Problems of Qualifying Environmental Criminal Offences in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Azamat Bimagambetov1, Ruslan Jiyembayev2, Zhandos Zholzhaksynov3 & Adel Sadvakassova4

https://doi.org/10.62271/pjc.16.3.341.354

Abstract
To protect the environment from ecology-related encroachments, countries implement environmental policy, determine legal, as well as criminal liability for violations in this area. The purpose of paper is to identify common features that allow distinguishing ecological criminal offences into a separate group and to investigate criminal penalties for committing such offences, as well as to highlight the problem of qualification of these crimes. The important tasks of this study include defining the term “environmental crimes”, which will clearly analyse this category of offences. The following scientific methods are employed in this study: functional and dialectical approaches, the method of logical analysis, the method of synthesis, the method of comparative analysis, the method of analysis of scientific literature, the method of generalisation. This paper analysed statistical data, scientific research, court decisions, and regulations of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Using practical examples, the most typical environmental criminal offences in Kazakhstan were identified. Notably, in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as in other countries of the world, environmental problems intersect with social ones.

Keywords: Ecology; Criminal Law; Constitution; Offence; Criminal Liability