Agricultural lands: a civilistic view of the social obligation to preserve them

The subject. Study focuses on the problem of conservation and efficient use of agricultural land. It is important for any state, but it is especially relevant for Russia, given the size of the country’s territory and the large proportion of arable land. Statistics shows a tendency to reduce the total area of arable land. This trend is especially alarming for the Krasnodar Region, the granary of Russia. In this regard, the scientific analysis of judicial and arbitration practice in cases related to the use of agricultural land is relevant. It is important to see the trends emerging in law enforcement and assess their importance for solving the overall task of preserving agricultural land.

The purpose of the study is to identify a scientific civil basis for improving both legislation and law enforcement practice. The author puts forward a scientific hypothesis that a new stage of civil legal regulation should offer both the legislator and the judicial authorities a new idea that can be productively used, among other things, to solve the problem of conservation and efficient use of agricultural land.

The methodology. The following methods were used in the research: general scientific dialectical, universal scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, abstraction, formal logical, system-structural), special legal methods (comparative legal, method of system interpretation, method of legal modeling.

The main results, scope of application. The author describes the prospects of using a socially oriented model of civil law regulation. Such a functional approach brings to the fore a social obligation, the presence of which should be assumed in the content of each subjective civil right. The argumentation of social responsibility as an element of subjective law acquires special significance in relation to civil rights to land plots. In their implementation the perspective value is not the autonomy of the will and the power of the owner, but the preservation of the value of the land, including its fertile qualities, as well as the development of social relations in which the lands of this category participate. The theoretical idea of the social orientation of civil law regulation is of great importance for the emerging law enforcement practice, since it sets before the courts the task of considering social interests, including, of course, the general interest in preserving agricultural lands, including especially valuable and productive lands.

Conclusions. A theoretical basis (scientific idea) is proposed for improving civil legislation and law enforcement practice, which can be fruitfully used for the conservation and effective use of agricultural land.

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