The concept and composition of the category of land of specially protected areas and objects

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

One of the most important human rights, which are established by Article 42 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is the right to ensure a favorable environment. However, in the process of expanding the scope of economic activity, as well as in connection with the constant activation of industry, an increasingly negative impact on the integrity of natural ecological systems begins to be exerted, which leads to a deterioration in the environmental situation in the state, as well as the depletion of natural resources.

Recently, land privatization has intensified quite strongly in Russia, and more and more plots are involved in civil circulation. For this reason, private investors began to be interested in the possibility of privatizing the lands of specially protected areas and objects.

It is worth noting that it was far from always possible to buy such lands, since there were quite strict legal requirements for this. In this regard, there is currently a misconception on the market that the lands of specially protected territories and objects, in principle, cannot be acquired by private owners, although this is actuallywrong.

List of restricted areas

Features of the legal possibility of purchasing such plots are due to the fact that at the moment there are certain restrictions on their turnover. Due to certain subtleties of the current legislation, at the moment it is not possible to refuse to grant ownership to various persons of land, which includes the lands of specially protected territories and objects, because they are in municipal or state ownership. At the same time, in accordance with the Land Code, plots that are restricted in circulation cannot be provided to anyone in private ownership, and exceptions to this rule apply only to cases predetermined by federal law.

A rather exhaustive list of plots classified as limited turnover is established by the paragraphs of the current Land Code. In accordance with these norms, as such, they mean areas occupied by various national parks or nature reserves that are federal property, and it is impossible to acquire them, in principle. Limited turnover refers to areas within the protected areas, but not specified in the Land Code.

Lands of specially protected territories and objects are classified as a completely independent category, which is established by the current article of the RF LC.

In accordance with article 94 of the RF LC, protected areas may includelands seized in connection with the decisions of the authorized federal bodies, as well as due to the decision of the authorities of individual subjects of the Russian Federation. They can also be issued by self-government bodies. This list includes those lands that have been partially withdrawn from economic circulation or for which a special legal regime is being established.

What is this?

Lands of specially protected territories and objects are resorts and areas of the following purpose:

• he alth and wellness;
• recreational;
• environmental;
• historical and cultural.

It also includes any areas of particular value that are specified by the Land Code and various federal laws.

Cadastral significance

Lands of specially protected territories and objects can belong to this category and type, in accordance with the materials of the cadastral file, which are stored in the Federal Budgetary Institution of Ukraine for a particular subject. The legal regime of a particular plot is influenced by the category of a particular type of land, as well as a separate type of permitted use, indicated in the State Cadastre. Thus, the corresponding type of permitted exploitation of the plots affects the possibility of its privatization from state ownership.

The legal analysis of the current Land Code makes it possible to say that the only of the five existing types, which include lands of specially protected territories and objects, are areas limited inturnover. And in particular, we are talking about protected areas. The remaining species do not have any restrictions in this, so if desired, they can be privatized in the prescribed manner.

Recreational areas

The practical experience of most experts shows that private buyers are more interested in recreational areas, which also include lands of specially protected areas and objects. The dissertation does not have to contain this information, but for most interested people it can be quite interesting.

Due to the peculiarities of the current legislation, the following sections belong to this category:

• intended and used in the organization of tourism;
• rest;
• sports or he alth-improving activities of citizens;
• areas where tourist parks are located;
• stations;
• homes of hunters and fishermen;
• tourist he alth camps;
• base;
• sports facilities, as well as many other similar areas.

At the same time, it should be noted that the norms of the current legislation do not specify specific prohibitions on the privatization of such areas, although the lands of specially protected territories and objects are also related to them. The thesis of many students researching this issue, by the way, includes this clarification, but it will be of interest to most potential buyers.

In addition, it is worth noting that many students, analyzing the legal norms on land reservation as one of the stages in the formation of specially protected natural areas, found serious problems in the legislation, which indicates the need to develop a new draft law or some another legal act regulating the reservation of lands and other natural objects on those lands that are planned for the creation of specially protected natural areas.

What can be done with them

Given the meaning of these norms, we can say that the choice between the complete purchase of a certain plot or obtaining the right to lease it is based only on the individual will of a particular property owner.

Local governments do not have the right to create any obstacles for the applicant in exercising the rights granted to him by the current legislation, if they contain any buildings owned by a private person, including lands of specially protected territories and objects. The legal regime indicates the possibility of privatization of recreational areas by those people who have any buildings on them.

How status is assigned

It often happens that the authorized bodies issue an unreasonable denial to applicants of their legal opportunity to privatize various sites located on recreational lands, believing that they also include the legal regimenatural areas provided with special protection. At the same time, one must correctly understand that such territories themselves differ from medical areas and all kinds of resorts.

But in accordance with the current provisions of the Land Code, the territories of resorts and he alth-improving areas are specially protected, as they are intended for recreation and treatment of various categories of citizens. In particular, in such areas there are areas with natural healing resources that are currently or in the future used for the treatment or prevention of various diseases. It is for this reason that they are limited in circulation, and also have a more stringent legal regulatory regime compared to recreational ones.

There is a certain procedure for how a particular site can be brought into the lands of specially protected territories and objects. What can be built on such an area directly depends on what specific status was assigned to it. But at the same time, the body dealing with the disposal of public lands does not have the right to arbitrarily determine such a status, and it is carried out only through the adoption of an appropriate regulatory act by public authorities or local self-government. This means that if such acts have not been adopted in relation to a certain territory, it can only be attributed to a recreational area, and no restrictions on circulation will be imposed on it.

Lease of lands of specially protected territories and objects, in the form of protected areas, cannot be carried out from the momenttheir boundaries will be indicated and the position will be issued by the appropriate authority, depending on which specific species they belong to. At the same time, it is worth noting that if the boundaries of the site you requested were not approved in the form of a specially protected area, and there is no corresponding act that it belongs to a specially protected category, then you cannot be denied the right to privatize it, just because there is a designated protected area. Such a legal position is fully confirmed by the current practice of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation. In the course of legal proceedings, a certain authorized body must collect evidence that a specific land plot was legally assigned to the mentioned territorial category.

In addition, if earlier, in accordance with land management documentation and various title documents, land plots could belong to a different category of land, then any change in their category to specially protected ones can be carried out only if this occurs in in accordance with the provisions of applicable law.

How to appeal?

In the event that you received an unreasonable refusal from the authorized body regarding an attempt to acquire lands of specially protected territories / objects, their sale, of course, cannot be carried out. But at the same time, this decision can be challenged through a lawsuit.

It is worth noting that in the case of going to court, it is extremely important to observe all the subtleties of various procedural points that may affect the challengerefusal or inaction of the authorized body in terms of the disposal of public lands.

What you need for this

A person who owns objects located on the lands of specially protected territories must submit an application to the authorized body by order and at the same time attach to it a certain list of documents established by current legislation. It is best to familiarize yourself with the specifics of the documentation in your particular case in advance, since in the absence of even one specific paper, this can be perceived as a sufficient legal basis for refusing to provide this site on the most formal basis - incomplete paperwork.

In this case, it is pointless to challenge the refusal, but it is better to simply collect the missing documentation, and again try to privatize the lands of specially protected areas. The object of the Russian Federation will not be provided to you otherwise, since the court will consider this dispute as quickly as possible, recognizing the refusal of the body as well-founded and legal on formal grounds.

If you have submitted a full set of necessary documents, then within a month from the moment the application is received, the authorized body decides to provide the land for your use on lease or on the right of ownership, depending on what specific type of right you choose to include in the application. After a month from the date of the adoption of this decision, the relevant authority must conductpreparation of a draft agreement for the acquisition or lease of a certain plot, after which it provides it to the applicant, making a proposal to draw up an appropriate agreement under which he will use the lands of specially protected areas / objects.

If no decision was made within the specified period, or a refusal to provide the site was sent, then in this case the applicant has three months to appeal against the inaction or, in his opinion, illegal actions on the part of the authorized body. Such applications must be submitted to the district or arbitration court.

Appeal deadline

Special attention should be paid to the fact that the civil and arbitration procedural legislation of the Russian Federation provides for a somewhat limited period in which you can appeal against the actions of the authorities - this is 90 days after a certain organization or citizen received the news that their rights were violated and freedom. In the event that the deadlines for filing the necessary documents on appeal were not observed, the court has the right to completely refuse to review the case and will not even assess the merits of the grounds for the decision made by the body.

Given the current judicial practice, if you are interested in the composition of the lands of specially protected areas/objects, but the authorized bodies refused, when applying to the court it is best to concentrate on two main requirements:

• recognize inaction or failure of executive bodiesillegal;
• to oblige the appropriate structure to prepare and send to your address a draft contract for the purchase / sale of a certain area within the prescribed period.

Results

Summing up the above information, it is worth highlighting a few key points for those who are interested in the lands of specially protected natural areas/objects:

1. Of the composition of all lands, limited in circulation and cannot be privatized only those areas that are specially protected. The remaining four types specified in Article 94 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, including also various recreational areas, have no restrictions on circulation, and therefore they can be privatized. The lands of specially protected territories and objects are not transferred to the ownership of private individuals.
2. There is a specialized procedure for how the status of protected areas is assigned, in accordance with applicable law. If this order was not observed, this indicates that the protected area has not been developed. The burden of proof that a particular protected area has been properly registered already rests with the public land administration authority.
3. If you are interested in a certain category of land - specially protected areas / objects, but a refusal has been made, and you are going to challenge it, then in this case it is extremely important to fully comply with the various procedural points. In particular, you must submit to the authority along with the application a complete package of documents establishedby the relevant Order of the Ministry of Economic Development.
4. Various actions or inactions, in terms of granting ownership of a certain land plot, if necessary, can be appealed in court within three months after the violation of rights was recorded. When applying to the judiciary, it is extremely important to formulate your requirements correctly so that the future decision can be enforced, and at the same time it allows you to quickly achieve the necessary economic result.

Given all this, you will be able to properly interact with lands potentially located or already classified as specially protected areas and objects.