K některým problémům správních deliktů na úseku ochrany životního prostředí

The article deals with some of the topical issues and aspects of liability for the so called administrative delicts in the area of environmental protection. In the Czech law this concerns specifically the liability of juridical and natural persons (all organizations and entrepreneurs) carrying on their business activities. Their legal accountability is based on the principle of absolute liability (irrespective of fault). The author looks at some of the controversial or unresolved issues examining them from the point of view of both substantive and procedural law. He focuses on the formulation of the primary obligations as well as the consequential subject-matters of the administrative delicts. He argues for a most accurate formulation of duties and their consistent linkage with sanctions. From the procedural aspect the author points out a number of unresolved questions involving in particular the time limits for the imposition of sanctions and their determination, the problem linked with the imposition of concurrent sanctions and its possible resolution (whether or not to apply the principle of absorption or consumption respectively), the amount of the sanction (fine) to be imposed, its determination and the obligatory or discretionary nature of the imposition. The article is concieved in a broader context, ie. in relation to administrative law and administrative organs in particular, their competence and powers while imposing sanctions. To conclude his contribution, the author outlines a few fundamental points of controversy and endeavours to suggest their possible solutions. These involve not only the necessary adoption of the common statutory procedural regulation of this area (analogous to the Act on Misdemeanours) but also the elaboration and application in the legislative process of unequivocal and uniformly construed rules generally applied as the basis for all partial regulations. The reason for this is that the current legal regulation is not only atomized but it is also non-systematic and illogical. No less important is the emphasis placed upon the need to resolve the relationship between the imposition of sanctions (fines) for administrative delicts and the granting of other administrative remedies.