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Analysis of Thematic Review No. 11/2026 of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The document summarizes the courts’ practice in cases concerning rights to land plots in certain categories of land withdrawn from circulation or subject to restrictions on circulation — specially protected natural areas, forest lands and the shoreline of publicly accessible water bodies — as well as the rules governing the use of such land. The full text of the review — in the CasusLegal database ↗.
The item numbers and details of judicial acts are active links. An item number leads to its full text in the database; the practice details lead to the relevant rulings and judgments. Under each item, the verbatim proposition, a brief analysis and, where found in the connector, judicial acts concerning related practice are provided.
Establishment and change of status of specially protected natural areas, the land regime within their boundaries, and declarations that rights do not exist in federally significant specially protected natural areas (items 1–13).
Paragraph 1 · Establishment of a wildlife sanctuary does not require the consent of land-rights holders
The statute on specially protected natural areas permits a wildlife sanctuary to be established both with and without the expropriation of land from its rights holders; their consent is not required, and the legislation on specially protected natural areas expressly contemplates the possibility of restricting their rights.
Primary source in the database: — no separate Supreme Court of the Russian Federation case directly applying this position was found in the connector database; a thematic search for relevant acts concerning the establishment of specially protected natural areas and hunting management entities produced no results.
Paragraph 2 · A specially protected natural area may include privately owned land and introduce its own urban-planning regulations
Article 95 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation does not exclude private ownership of land within specially protected natural areas; changing the urban-planning regulations when a plot is included in a specially protected natural area does not deprive the rights holder of the ability to continue using the plot and the facilities on it as before, except where this poses a danger to life, health or the environment.
Primary source in the database: — no related case law concerning the inclusion of privately owned plots in specially protected natural areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 3 · Functional zoning of a specially protected natural area requires justification
The court declared the zoning of an ecological park unlawful: plots similar in terms of development had been assigned to different zones without justification for the differences, as confirmed by a judicial environmental expert examination.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law concerning the justification of functional zoning of specially protected natural areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 4 · A municipality may not establish a specially protected natural area on federally owned forest land
More than 94% of the territory of the local resource reserve that was established consisted of federally owned forest-fund land; the law permits municipalities to establish specially protected natural areas of local significance only on land they own, and the decision was therefore held inconsistent with federal legislation.
Primary source in the database: — no case law concerning the powers of local self-government bodies to establish specially protected natural areas on forest land was found in the database.
Paragraph 5 · Establishment of a wildlife sanctuary changes a previously concluded agreement covering the territory
A hunting-management agreement concluded before the establishment of the wildlife sanctuary must be amended if the company’s continued hunting-management activities conflict with the objectives and regime of the newly established specially protected natural area — this was recognized as a material change of circumstances (Article 451 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law concerning the amendment of hunting-management agreements in connection with the establishment of specially protected natural areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 6 · Changing the category or profile of a specially protected natural area of regional significance requires coordination with the federal authorities
A regional procedure that did not provide for such coordination was held unlawful: otherwise, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation could have removed the protected status of a specially protected natural area through a simplified procedure, bypassing the shared jurisdiction of the Federation and the region in this sphere.
Primary source in the database: on the powers of the authorized body with respect to specially protected natural areas of regional significance — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Economic Disputes No. 310-ЭС25-14488 (15.01.2026): a case concerning a dispute affecting a specially protected natural area of regional significance was remanded for a new hearing because the body responsible for organizing, protecting and using that area had not been joined to the proceedings — no direct application of the position in item 6 was found in the database; the act is cited on a related issue of competence.
Paragraph 7 · Excluding land from a specially protected natural area requires an assessment of its significance for the entire area
The court declared unlawful the decision to exclude a plot from a specially protected natural area: the expert opinion did not confirm that the plot had lost its special significance, and assessing it separately from the entire area was impermissible.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law concerning the exclusion of plots from specially protected natural areas of local significance was found in the database.
Paragraph 8 · Forests within specially protected natural areas must be classified as protective forests
The failure of Rosleskhoz to ensure the reclassification of the forests of the nature monument from commercial to protective forests was held unlawful: the improper forest category created a risk that they would be used for timber harvesting, hunting and subsoil use in violation of the regime of the specially protected natural area.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law concerning the category of forests within the boundaries of specially protected natural areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 9 · Location of a plot within the boundaries of a federally significant specially protected natural area is grounds for declaring that the right does not exist
National park lands are excluded from civil commerce and may be held only in federal ownership; registration of a private right in them creates no legal basis for possession, and the good-faith argument was rejected because of unreliable documents and the bad faith of the purchasers.
Primary source in the database: direct reliance on the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation case law developing it — Resolution No. 3-П of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (28.01.2025); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 18-КГ25-313 (21.10.2025); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 18-КГ25-354 (21.10.2025) : The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation held that, in such an action, courts must assess the defendant’s good faith and the limitation period and, where the defendant acted in good faith or the limitation period has expired, impose on the public authority the obligation to provide an equivalent plot; in two cases concerning land in Sochi National Park, the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases confirmed that purchasers whose documents and chain of transactions were tainted by bad faith had acquired no rights.
Paragraph 10 · The crisis anti-court procedure for purchasing land does not apply to plots with restricted circulation
A citizen was refused the purchase without tender of a leased protected-area plot: the preferential crisis procedure does not override the express prohibition on transferring protected-area land with restricted circulation into private ownership.
Primary source in the database: on the restrictive interpretation of the same procedure (a different aspect) — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Economic Disputes No. 305-ЭС25-13562 (26.03.2026) : The chamber separately narrowed the category of persons entitled to use the preferential purchase without tender under Resolution No. 629, holding that it is available only where the actual use and the contractual purpose of the plot correspond to the list in the resolution — there was no direct application to protected areas in this case, but the general approach to restrictive interpretation of the benefit is consistent.
Paragraph 11 · Plots in a settlement located within a protected area have restricted circulation if the settlement boundaries are not recorded in the USRN
The refusal to provide a plot for individual housing construction within the boundaries of a wildlife sanctuary was held lawful: the transitional provisions of Law No. 505-ФЗ make the removal of circulation restrictions contingent on the settlement boundaries being entered in the USRN, and no such information was recorded in the register.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law applying specifically Article 6 of Law No. 505-ФЗ was found in the database.
Paragraph 12 · Law No. 505-ФЗ does not terminate an already registered right of the Russian Federation to land in a protected area
A municipality’s action seeking a declaration that the Russian Federation had no right to land beneath a parking lot was dismissed: the Russian Federation’s title had been registered before Law No. 505-ФЗ, and the action sought not recognition of municipal ownership but merely to give the plot the status of land whose ownership had not been delimited, which is not an appropriate remedy.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on this same issue of delimiting land within protected areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 13 · The recreational zone of a protected area precludes multi-apartment development
The refusal to issue a permit for the construction of multi-apartment buildings in a forest park was held justified: the recreational functional zoning under the master plan and the special-protection regime of the protected area are incompatible with comprehensive multi-apartment development.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on development in recreational zones of protected areas was found in the database.
Cutting for linear facilities and extraction of mineral resources on specially protected-area lands (items 14–15).
Paragraph 14 · Cutting for power transmission lines in protected areas — without a forest development project
Use of forests without the allocation of a forest plot (for operating power transmission lines previously lawfully installed) requires neither a forest development project, nor an expert review of such project, nor a forest declaration, including on protected-area lands.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on cutting for power transmission lines in protected areas was found in the database.
Paragraph 15 · Mineral extraction in a wildlife sanctuary without a forest development project constitutes environmental harm
The development of a quarry on wildlife-sanctuary land without a positive conclusion of the state expert review of the forest development project was held to constitute environmental harm; the case was remanded for reconsideration to determine the amount of harm.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on subsoil use in wildlife sanctuaries was found in the database.
Transfer of protected-area land to another category, priority of USRN information over State Forest Register data, and the procedure for resolving inconsistencies between the registers (items 16–19).
Paragraph 16 · Transferring protected-area land to another category requires an environmental expert review
The refusal to transfer a plot from the protected-area category to agricultural land was held lawful in the absence of a positive conclusion of the state environmental expert review, which the law requires as a condition for such transfer.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on transferring land from the protected-area category was found in the database.
Paragraph 17 · Where USRN and SFR data conflict, USRN data takes priority for rights arising before 2016
The inclusion of a plot in a forestry scheme was held unlawful: title had arisen before 2016 and was confirmed by title documents and USRN data; administrative acts granting the plot had not been declared invalid.
Primary source in the database: the same priority of USRN information was developed in the practice of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 52-КГ25-2 (05.08.2025); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГ25-68 (20.01.2026) : Both rulings require courts not to rely solely on the formal priority of USRN data, but to examine the actual use of the land, the presence of forest vegetation, the purchaser’s good faith, and whether the remaining area complies with the maximum permitted plot sizes.
Paragraph 18 · Administrative resolution of inconsistencies between USRN and SFR data — only where no dispute over title exists
The ministry’s refusal to amend the SFR without a decision to transfer the land was held to require renewed review: where a dispute over title arises, the court must examine the formation and use of the plot, the presence of forest vegetation, and the purchaser’s good faith, rather than rely solely on the formal priority of USRN data.
Primary source in the database: the same approach to distinguishing an administrative procedure from a dispute over title — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 18-КГ25-258 (25.07.2025); Resolution No. 3-П of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (28.01.2025) : The Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases confirms that the administrative priority of USRN information does not eliminate the need to establish actual possession, good faith, and the proper claimant when a fully contested judicial dispute arises.
Paragraph 19 · Establishing plot boundaries is an independent remedy in a dispute with a forestry authority
A dispute over the boundaries of a plot, part of which the forestry authority considers forest land, is resolved separately from a previously adjudicated dispute over title: the court establishes the coordinates of turning points on the basis of a court-appointed expert examination, while the part of the plot covered by forest vegetation is recognized as belonging to the forest fund regardless of the cadastral record.
Primary source in the database: on establishing the boundaries of forest plots and the significance of coordinates in the USRN — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 16-КГ25-34 (27.01.2026) : The chamber held that removing information on the coordinates of turning points of forest plots from the USRN does not terminate their status as part of the forest fund or change the boundaries of the forestry authority’s territory — long-term actual use of part of the forest fund does not, in itself, create rights to it.
Recovery of forest-fund land from unlawful possession, the purchaser’s good faith, maximum plot sizes, and calculation of the limitation period (items 20–25).
Paragraph 20 · Without cadastral registration, the category of forest-fund land is determined from forest-management materials
Plots formed by a municipality without legal grounds from a federally owned forest plot were recovered in favor of the Federal Forestry Agency: the evidence consisted of SFR extracts, forest inventory descriptions, forest-management maps, and field survey reports.
Primary source in the database: — no distinct case law on this specific basis for registration was found in the database.
Paragraph 21 · A dispute over rights to forest-fund land — assessment of formation, forest vegetation, and good faith
An action seeking a declaration that title to a plot with minimal overlap (9 sq. m) with the forest fund was absent was dismissed: the plot had been formed under the master plan, cadastrally registered, and had no forest vegetation; the defendant acted in good faith, so the balance between public and private interests was struck in favor of the owner.
Primary source in the database: the same list of legally significant circumstances was applied in the practice of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 18-КГ25-24 (18.04.2025); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 18-КГ25-26 (21.03.2025) : Both rulings require such disputes to be classified under Articles 301–302 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (with assessment of possession and good faith), rather than Article 304 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and prohibit replacing a court-appointed expert examination with an opinion issued by an interested agency’s specialist.
Paragraph 22 · A purchaser of a plot with forest vegetation must verify that it belongs to the forest fund
Title to the part of a plot overlapping with the forest fund was declared absent: the privatization of the forest plot had initially been unlawful, and the visible characteristics of the forest precluded the good faith of all subsequent purchasers.
Primary source in the database: the same heightened-due-diligence standard was applied in the practice of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 52-КГ25-2 (05.08.2025) : The chamber expressly reproduces the formulation that “the conduct of a person acquiring a plot with mature trees without verifying that it belongs to the forest fund cannot be recognized as conduct in good faith.”
Paragraph 23 · Partial overlap with the forest fund — subdivision of the plot subject to maximum plot sizes
A case concerning the demolition of houses and recovery of plots was remanded for reconsideration: the lower courts had failed to take into account that the houses stood on settlement land outside the forest fund, while the possibility of retaining the remaining part of the plot depended on compliance with minimum plot sizes.
Primary source in the database: the same criterion of maximum plot sizes in subdivision was applied by the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases — Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГ25-68 (20.01.2026) : When granting an action for recovery of part of a plot, the court must assess whether the remaining area complies with the minimum sizes established by the planning regulations.
Paragraph 24 · Expiry of the limitation period in a dispute over forest lands is an independent ground for dismissing the claim
The claim against a large family was dismissed: the authorised body entered information on the “forest district” territorial zone in the Unified State Register of Real Estate back in 2019, meaning that it should have detected the boundary overlap at that time, but it applied to the court only in 2024—the limitation period had expired.
Primary source in the database: the same procedure for calculating the limitation period for a public-law entity is established in the case law of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation— Resolution No. 3-П of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation (28.01.2025); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГПР25-81 (03.03.2026): the limitation period for claims brought by public authorities runs from the time the authorised body actually identifies the violation, rather than from the time the right was violated; at the same time, for the forest fund (unlike the bank strip and federally significant specially protected natural areas), expiry of the limitation period bars the claim itself.
Paragraph 25 · “Forest amnesty”: changing the land category by permitted use type—without a separate decision
A citizen who received a “Far Eastern hectare” and chose individual housing construction and horticulture may not be denied that use on the ground that a separate decision to change the land category is required—the law provides for the automatic transfer of information on the land category to the registration authority.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on the “forest amnesty” as applied to a Far Eastern hectare was found in the database.
Coordination of master plans with Rosleskhoz, the regime of forest-park zones, non-forest infrastructure and public access to forests (paras. 26–29).
Paragraph 26 · Inclusion of forest lands within a settlement’s boundaries requires coordination with Rosleskhoz
The master plan was held ineffective in part because it had been approved without coordination with Rosleskhoz; the head of the administration’s authority to submit an uncoordinated draft to the representative body does not replace the mandatory coordination procedure where required by law.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on coordinating master plans with Rosleskhoz was found in the database.
Paragraph 27 · Electricity-grid facilities in a forest-park zone—only to supply permitted facilities with electricity
A case concerning the laying of a cable line through a forest-park zone to supply a house outside it with electricity was remitted for reconsideration: convenience and lower costs for the grid operator do not create a right to use protective forest in circumvention of the approved list of permitted non-capital facilities.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on the placement of electricity-grid facilities in forest-park zones was found in the database.
Paragraph 28 · Capital construction beyond the forest development plan constitutes a material breach of the lease agreement
The lease agreement for a forest-park plot was terminated, and the capital facilities erected on it were declared unauthorised constructions: the lessee exceeded the forest development plan and engaged in prohibited mineral extraction on the forest-park plot instead of the prescribed recreational activities.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on terminating forest-plot lease agreements on this ground was found in the database.
Paragraph 29 · Fencing a forest plot is permissible only in cases expressly provided for by law
A lessee of a forest plot leased for recreational activities was ordered to dismantle the fence: the law does not provide for fencing plots granted specifically for recreation, and the guarantee of citizens’ free presence in forests is mandatory.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on dismantling fences around forest plots was found in the database.
The prohibition on privatising bank strips, recovery of land and ensuring citizens’ free access to water (paras. 30–33).
Paragraph 30 · Overlap of a plot with a bank strip is grounds for declaring the right nonexistent
The right to the part of an individual housing construction plot overlapping the river’s 20-metre bank strip was declared nonexistent; the remaining part complied with the maximum dimensions and allowed the plot to be used for its intended purpose.
Primary source in the database: the same prohibition on privatising a bank strip and its consequences were applied in the case law of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases— Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГПР25-80 (24.02.2026): a building within the boundaries of a bank strip was declared an unauthorised construction, and the prosecutor’s claims for recovery of the plot and demolition of the building were granted—the limitation period does not apply to such claims because the water body had not ceased to be possessed by the public owner.
Paragraph 31 · A purchaser’s good faith does not prevent recovery of bank-strip land
A plot formed from a bank strip and transferred into private ownership in violation of an express prohibition was recovered regardless of the purchaser’s good faith: the prohibition on privatising such land is linked to the need to ensure its public accessibility.
Primary source in the database: the same principle that good faith is inapplicable to a bank strip was developed in the case law of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases— Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГПР25-80 (24.02.2026); Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГПР25-81 (03.03.2026): both rulings confirm that the formal application of the limitation period or reliance on good faith must not legitimise the privatisation of a bank strip or restrict citizens’ access to a water body.
Paragraph 32 · A municipality may grant a lease of a plot in an undelimited bank strip
The Water Code does not allocate land adjacent to water bodies according to levels of public ownership; in the absence of evidence of delimitation, a plot within the boundaries of a bank strip was held to be state-owned land with undelimited ownership, and a lease agreement concluded by a municipality on condition of citizens’ free access to water was held lawful.
Primary source in the database: — no separate case law on the authority of local self-government bodies to lease an undelimited bank strip was found in the database.
Paragraph 33 · The duty to ensure access to water does not depend on whether the bank-line coordinates have been entered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate
The owner of a garage plot was ordered to dismantle a fence adjoining the riverbank: by law, a bank strip is a public-access area regardless of whether its coordinates have been entered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
Primary source in the database: the same principle—that a bank strip operates independently of Unified State Register of Real Estate data—was applied by the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases— Ruling of the Judicial Chamber for Civil Cases No. 4-КГПР25-80 (24.02.2026): capital construction within the boundaries of a bank strip was declared unlawful, and the duty to ensure public access to a water body does not depend on whether its characteristics have been entered in the Unified State Register of Real Estate.
The review was approved on 01.07.2026, so the database cannot contain case law that expressly cites this document. Below is related case law on the substance of the same issues, found through a thematic search using the CasusLegal “Higher Courts” connector: lines of continuity in the legal positions.
For 25 of the 33 points, no separate or related case law applying the provisions was found in the connector database—this is stated honestly in the cards for those points in the “source not found” field, without inventing nonexistent citations.