Abstract: In the current context, the goals of Russia and China in achieving "carbon neutrality" by 2060 and strengthening their own energy resource and environmental security, the comparative study of the laws on transition towards low-carbon energy sources and new environmental standards declared by both countries is relevant and urgent. The subject of this research is measures to reform legislation in the sphere of exploration and extraction of natural gas in Russia and China, which can be divided into the following aspects: reform of the legislative system on the mineral resources and competitive transfer of the right to use the subsoil plots, reform of the law "On Foreign Investment" and definition of state strategic mineral resources, legal system of environmental protection, and reform regarding the protection of environmental resources in the mining districts. Based on comparative research in various legal disciplines, the author generalizes and analyzes the similarities and differences in ensuring resource and environmental security in Russia and China. This article summarizes the experience and shortcomings of Russia and China in maintaining balance between the national resource security and environmental security aimed at the achievement of "carbon neutrality". Stemming from the fact that both countries manage the appropriate resource and environmental security, China should adopt the Russian experience and transform the administrative provisions of the lower level associated with the protection of resources and environmental security into legislative acts, in order to enhance their law enforcement, compulsory and deterrent authority. Russia, in turn, should also resort to the experience of China in implementation of the factors of market competition in the sphere of exploration of oil and gas, as well as encourage and motivate foreign or domestic private capital to contribute to oil and gas exploration and help Russia to upgrade its equipment and boost production.

Keywords: foreign investment, subsoil, environmental safety, resource security, national security, use of subsoil plots, сhinese legal reform, environmental protection, subsoil of federal significance, carbon neutrality

Abstract: The subject of this research is the legal norms, doctrinal provisions and case law on the conditions of civil liability. The relevance of this topic is determined by the tendency to expand the list of cases of strict liability detected in comparison the current and Soviet legislation. However, the principle observed by the legislator in transferring cases from the "regime of fault liability" to the "regime of strict liability" is still a puzzle. For the purpose of systematicity of legislation and reasonable claim of strict liability, such principle should be captured in legislation. The goal of this research lies in determination of the condition of civil liability without fault. Using the method of legal induction, the author formulates the conclusion on the condition of strict liability based on the analysis of separate court decisions and legal norms dedicated to various cases of strict liability. A number of cases of civil liability without fault specified in the law are substantiated by a different (instead of fault) condition of liability, namely the implementation of professional activity that entailed civil violation. If the case of liability without fault specified in the law does not contain any other condition of liability alternative to fault, the corresponding rule should be excluded from the law due to groundlessness (for example, the rule on strict liability for obligations of the trustee in relation to individuals who are not the subjects of professional activity in this sphere; the rule on compensation for moral damages irrespective of guilt for distribution of discrediting information by a person who is not a professional distributor of mass media products). The author offers to legislate the principle of civil strict liability.

Keywords: professional custodian, professional activity, tort liability, contractual liability, pre-contractual liability, guilt, civil liability, civil-law liability, entrepreneurial activity, source of increased danger

Abstract: The object of the research in the framework of the article was the social relations developing in the sphere of the realization of the linguistic rights of representatives of national minorities in the Russian Federation. The subject was the provisions of the Constitution, which enshrines the legal regime for the implementation and protection of the linguistic rights of representatives of national minorities. As an additional subject for analysis, the provisions of individual federal laws that are in connection with the constitutional and legal regulation of the linguistic rights of national minorities were used. Special attention was paid to the problems of correlation and differentiation of the languages of the peoples of Russia. Some problems of differentiation of subjects of competence between the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation were also identified. The main conclusions formulated based on the results of the analysis were the following: The provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in the relevant sphere are represented by two large blocks of norms, one of which is located in Chapter 2, and the second in Chapter 3. At the same time, the provisions of Chapter 2 of the Constitution establish common language rights and state guarantees in the sphere of their free exercise. These rights are universal and belong to all citizens regardless of their nationality. The key features of the constitutional and legal regulation of the linguistic rights of national minorities are concentrated in Chapter 3 of the Constitution, which establishes the duties of public authorities in the field of protecting the linguistic rights of national minorities, as well as establishes the possibility of giving official status to languages at the level of national republics that are part of the Russian Federation and guarantees the protection of the languages of all peoples of Russia. The study revealed a problem consisting in the fact that certain uncertainties and contradictions occur in the relevant provisions of the Constitution, which negatively affect the degree of protection of the linguistic rights of national minorities. Proposals to eliminate such problems predetermined the scientific novelty of this study.

Keywords: special protection mode, constitutional and legal regime, subjects of reference, collective language rights, individual language rights, languages of the peoples of Russia, state language, the language of the state - forming people, indigenous small peoples, national minority

Abstract: The subject of the study is the novelties introduced by the legislator into the criminal procedure legislation in 2016 on the possibility of termination of criminal prosecution against persons who have committed crimes of small and medium gravity for the first time, with the simultaneous application of another criminal law measure against them, a judicial fine. The object of the study is the emerging law enforcement practice arising in connection with the application of the norms on the judicial fine. The article pays special attention to the practical applicability of the rules on the judicial fine in relation to persons who have committed crimes of small and medium gravity for the first time, with the so-called formal (non-investigative) composition, as well as those who have committed attempted crimes. Various aspects of practical compensation by such defendants (suspects, defendants) for the harm caused by the crime are considered. The main result of the conducted research is the author's conclusion that a real proportionate compensation for any harm caused by a crime, as required by law, should be an indispensable condition for the application of the rules on a judicial fine, regardless of what kind of crime is in question: with a formal composition or material. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author analyzed statistical data on the application of novels about a court fine for the last 3 years, the existing trends in the application of a criminal law measure, a court fine against persons accused (suspects, defendants) of committing crimes with the so-called formal composition, as well as attempted crimes.

Keywords: judicial discretion, alternative sanctions, prosecutor, categories of crime, compensation for damages, public apologies, making amends for harm, exemption from liability, criminal law measures, court fine

Abstract: The subject of the study is the fixation of traces and impressions of papillary patterns of fingers and palms of hands with digital devices and scanners. The research methodology is based on the analysis of modern scientific provisions and expert practice on digital technologies used in fingerprinting. Attention is paid to private scientific methods of cognition: description, comparison of signs of papillary patterns obtained electronically. The empirical component of the study confirms the need to obtain fingerprint information by the traditional method - by using printing ink to stain papillary patterns of fingers and palms of hands, which makes it suitable not only for fingerprinting, but also for poro- and ejeoscopic examination. В  The main conclusions of the study conducted by the authors on the use of digital technologies in fingerprinting in electronic format is that when fixing and scanning a papillary pattern, proper image quality is not provided, small details (hook, peephole, fragment) are distorted, and private features are lost. When processing fingerprint information by scanners, errors are made, technical failures occur in the operation of the ADIS. Illustrative materials of poor quality cast doubt on the reliability and evidentiary power of fingerprint examination. Comparative study of handprints and fingerprints of the persons being checked with the help of ADIS "Papilon" can be used only as an auxiliary method.

Keywords: fingerprinting, research, ADIS Papilon, Live Scanner, digital technologies, fingerprint cards, papillary patterns, footprints, expertise, identification