Annotation: The article deals with the concept and classification of environmental offenses in international law, distinguishing elements of the latter, which in aggregate is the basis for international legal responsibility in the field of environmental protection. The peculiarities of regulation of this institute in a number of international documents, as well as existence of such body as the International Ecological Court at the United Nations for the settlement of environmental disputes are revealed. The article states that the subjects of international law are increasingly violating environmental norms, which causes the deterioration of the state of the environment, and in turn requires international legal regulation and bringing them to justice.