Shparyk N. International legal acts as sources of environmental law in Ukraine

The fact that international legal acts as sources of environmental law in Ukraine are the part of national environmental legislation and the factor of its further development is proved as far as international legal standards in environmental protection are progressive, contribute to improvement of existing environmental regulations and formulate compulsory environmentally reasonable regulations which require ratification by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and implementation of national environmental legislation. Special attention is paid to the process of implementation of international instruments into national environmental legislation. The new term is proposed and the author's definition of "international legal standards for the environment" is presented which shows the sequence of the transformation standards into domestic law. The implementation mechanism of those standards is highlighted namely legal consolidation, actual use, institutional and compensation ensuring. It is also indicated that sources of "soft law" in the system of international legal acts in the field of environmental protection take a special place: they do not pass the ratification procedure and are advisory in nature. By implementation of principles of these acts each state aims to respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global system of environmental protection for future generations. Acts of "soft law" in this area form the international legal standards and develop a position previously adopted by international legal acts, so that they are emerging from the principles of international legal acts. A main threat in case of failure or neglect of environmental law principles is deterioration of the environment and the global scale of this deterioration.