MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY
************

LE THI HANG

HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN VIETNAM TODAY

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN LAW

Hanoi - 2019


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY
************

LE THI HANG

HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN VIETNAM TODAY

SUMMARY OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION IN LAW
Supervisors: 1. Assoc. Prof. Bui Thi Dao

contributing to raising the efficiency of environmental protection, stabilizing
security, politics, social order and safety. Being aware of this, our state has
focused on improving the system of law on handling administrative violations
and gradually improving the effectiveness of handling administrative violations
in this field in practice. In which, the 2014 environmental protection law, the
2012 law on the handling of administrative violations and Decrees on handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection are considered
the basic nucleus of the system of law on handling administrative violations in
the field of environmental protection.
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By examining the provisions of the existing law on handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection in the 2014 environmental
protection law, the law on handling administrative violations 2012, Decree
155/2016/ND-CP on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection also reveals many shortcomings. There are many
overlapping and inappropriate rules on handling administrative violations,
competence and procedures for handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection, causing difficulties for law enforcement on handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection in reality [122,
p. 47]. Additionally, the awareness of individuals and organizations in protecting
environment and their participation in handling administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection is not high. The competent subjects to handle
administrative violations in this field are still limited professional and
qualifications; coordination in handling administrative violations is not strict;
technical facilities for handling administrative violations have not yet met the
requirements in practice; form of handling is just applying fines rather than
measures of solving consequences and forcing implementation of decision on
handling administrative violations, thus reducing the effectiveness of handling

administrative violations and handling violations; competence, procedures,
forms, roles and factors affecting the effectiveness of handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection;
- Analyzing the provisions of the existing law and the law enforcement in
handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection in
reality, and pointing out achievements, limitations and causes of the limitations.
- Proposing solutions to improve the law and the effectiveness of law
enforcement in handling administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection in Vietnam today.
3. Methodology and research methods
3.1. Methodology: The dissertation uses the methodology of MarxismLeninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought to consider and analyze issues.
3.2. Research methods: Methods of systematical approach, analysis and
synthesis; methods of description and analysis legal documents; statistical
methods; methods of comparison, proven and method-investigated by ankét
(200 questionnaires for the competent subjects in handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection; 200 questionnaires for
individuals, organizations and enterprises).

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4. Research subject and scope
4.1. Research subject: is the theoretical handling administrative violations
in the field of environment protection; law on handling administrative violations
in the field of environment protection and the reality of enforcing law handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection in Vietnam.
4.2. Research scope
- Regarding contents: systematize and explain theoretical issues on handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection; assessing the
situation of the law including provisions of the law on handling administrative

The dissertation seeks to examine and clarify issues from theory, law and
law enforcement in handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection. The dissertation findings can be seen as valuable
reference for legislative and regulatory agencies in the process of studying,
building and perfecting the law on handling administrative violations in the field
of environmental protection. The dissertation is valuable for researching and
teaching at universities of law.
7. Structure of the dissertation
In addition to the introduction and conclusion and references, the dissertation
includes 4 chapters.

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Chapter 1
LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Research situation related to the dissertation title
1.1.1. Research works on theoretical issues on environment, protection of
environment, handling law violations and handling administrative violations
in the field of environmental protection
1.1.1.1. Research works on theoretical issues on environment, protection of
environment, handling law violations on environmental protection
1.1.1.2. Research works on theoretical issues on handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
This section mentions research works that examine concept and
characteristics of handling administrative violations in general, as well as the
concept and characteristics of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection in particular; bases of handling these violations; the
handled objects, competent subjects, forms and procedures in handling
administrative violations, and roles and factors affecting handling administrative

violations and handling administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection. They presented characteristics of handling administrative violations
but they are similar to characteristics of sanctioning administrative violations in
the field of environmental protection.
- The works have not fully interpreted the nature of each form of
administrative deterrence to ensure the implementation of the decisions on
handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection. Not
yet clarified the competence in handling administrative violations of the state
administrative management offices on environmental protection and
environmental police forces; not clarifying procedures on handling
administrative violations that include steps from discovery to overcome
consequences.
- Most of research works on the real situation of the law in handling
administrative violations on environmental protection and handling these
violations in practice, have just stopped mention rather than intensive
interpretation and stopped by 2012, so there are many contents to be no longer
consistent with the provisions of the existing law. Therefore, the study will focus
on assessing the quality of the actual law and the reality of enforcing law on
handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
between 2012 and 2018.
- So far, there have not been any comprehensive research works of countries
around the world on handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection and compare with Vietnam. The dissertation tries to
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examine foreign research works on this issue so as to draw experiences for
Vietnam. The study also intends to propose solutions to improve regulations on
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection; forms of
handling violations; procedures and competence in handling administrative



implement the decisions; procedures to handle administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection are carried out through different stages
corresponding to the order of applying forms of handling administrative
violations.
Handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
plays an important role to the state administrative management in the field of
environmental protection, contributing to improving the law on environmental
protection. The effectiveness of handling administrative violations in the
protection of environment is impacted by the quality of the legal system, the
people’s qualifications and awareness of environmental protection; the
completion of the apparatus; the quality of human resources; facilities,
equipment and technical facilities.
- The existing law on handling administrative violations in the filed of
environmental protection still has inadequacies and shortcomings. The actual
situation of enforcing law in handling administrative violations on
environmental protection has not met the requirement of reality due to the
limitations of organizational structure and capacity of cadres and civil servants
to perform their work in the field of environmental protection.
- Solutions to improve the efficiency of handling administrative violations
are to improve the legal regulations in the direction of adding more
administrative violation acts in protecting environment; increasing the authority
for subjects who directly handle violations; increasing fines for acts of
administrative violations with economic purposes; adding more forms of
handling to those who are incapable of or deliberately failing to implement the
decision of handling administrative violations; completing regulations on
procedures of handling administrative violations; enhancing capacity of
handling administrative violations for competent subjects in this field.
Sub-conclusion of chapter 1

field of environmental protection, there are also assistants such as advising,
encouraging and inciting others to commit acts of harming environment;
geographical areas of administrative violation acts are in urban, industrial zones,
craft villages, densely populated areas, river basins, coastal areas and seaports;
tricks of violation acts are very sophisticated and diverse.

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2.1.3. Constituent of administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection
Objectively: constituent of administrative violations includes signs of
behavior, illegal acts and its consequences for social relations in the field of
environmental protection, causes and effects, time, place and means of
violations. In which, the illegal acts are mandatory signs in all administrative
violations on environmental protection.
Subjectively: it includes errors, motives, purposes of violations. In which, the
errors are reflected in all administrative violations as a mandatory sign.
Subjects violate administration in the field of environmental protection:
including individuals and organizations. In addition to citizens, officials and
cadres are also those who violate administration if they perform administrative
violation acts in the environmental protection.
Regarding objects: whether they participate in the state administration in the
field of environmental protection or not.
2.2. Handling administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection.
2.2.1. The concept and role of handling administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection
2.2.1.1. The concept of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection

defined as a common form in handling administrative violations in the
environmental protection. Seizing material evidences and means; take away the
right to use environmental licenses; suspending activities causing damage to the
environment and forcing relocation of production and business establishments
that cause serious harm to the environment; and forcing to work for serving the
community.
- Recovering consequences of administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection: including: forcing to remedy the initial environment
situation that was changed by administrative violations; forcing to break down
works and part of works that were built illegally; forcing to implement measures
to recover environmental pollution; and forcing to relocate.
- Preventing administrative violations and ensure the implementation of
decisions on handling administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection including: temporary seizure of material evidences and means,
environmental license; checking transport means and objects, as well as places
store material evidence and means of administrative violations.
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- Forcing to implement decision on handling administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection including: deducting part of salary or income,
deducting money from personal accounts and violated-organizations; distraining
assets and imposing a fine to administrative violation by real estate.
2.2.3. Competence to handle administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
Competent subjects in handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection including individuals hold job title in the agencies
which have function of the state administration on protection of environment
like the state administration by territorial; individuals hold job title in the
administrative agencies-specialized environmental protection to ensure timeliness

Subjects were handled administrative violations in the field of protection
including individuals and organizations. However, the provisions of handled
subjects have the following limitations: First, Decree 155 stipulates that
households and individual business households violate administration in the
field of environmental protection are sanctioned as individuals who violate the
legal principles regulated by the 2012 Law on handling administrative
violations. Second, missing the objects who assist others to commit
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection. Third, those
who are officials and public employees when performing official duties shall not
be handled for administrative violations. This does not guarantee the principle
of fairness when dealing with administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection.
3.1.2. Forms of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
The law stipulates the form of handling administrative violations in the field
of environmental protection, including: major and additional sanctions;
recovering consequences; preventing and ensuring the implementation of
decisions on handling administrative violations; forcing to implement the
decisions. There are still limitations of regulations on measures of handling
administrative violations: organizations were imposed a fine twice as much as
individuals, has not yet ensured the principle of fairness; administrative violation
acts are similar but penalties in legal documents are different; the fine for some
acts has not yet been quantified; the fine is not enough to deter those who
intentionally commit administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection for profit purposes.
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3.1.3. The reality of the law on competence for handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection

year 2015 tends to decrease but this figure has dramatically increased in 2016.
15


After Decree 155/2016/ND-CP took effect in 2017, the total number of cases of
administrative violations decreased from 2016 but then increased dramatically
in 2018 and reached 21,758 cases (see figure 3.1).
Administrative violations in the field of environmental protection violate all
8 groups of administrative violations prescribed by law: acts violate regulations
on environmental protection plans and schemes; acts of causing environmental
pollution; acts violate regulations in the field of environmental protection by
production and business facilities and services, and industrial parks, export
processing zones, hi-tech parks, industrial clusters, concentrated service and
business areas; acts violate waste management; violations in handling household
waste, industrial solid waste; violations of hazardous waste management;
violating regulations on environmental protection when importing machinery,
equipment, transport means, raw materials, biological products; violating
regulations on preventing and recovering environmental pollution, degradation
and incidents; acts of administrative violations on biodiversity.
Cases of administrative violations from 2012 to 2018
(93,011,000 cases)
25,000

21,578

20,000
14,361

15,000



Limitations of regulations on administrative violation acts in the field of
environmental protection include: some provisions on acts of administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection have not been unified with
other legal documents or with Decree 155/2016/ND-CP; the law does not have
full provisions on specific administrative violation acts of each group; some
provisions on administrative violation acts do not have specific guidance on how
to determine the level of violations, so it is hard to determine measures of
handling in reality.
3.3. Actual situation of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
3.3.1. The reality of implementing competence in handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
The forces of Natural Resources and Environment in the whole country have
imposed a fine of 451,870 million dong for 5,448 cases. However, there are still
some limitations such as: responsibilities of authorized subjects in managing
personal information of those who violate administration in the field of
environmental protection are not closed; some Decisions on handling
administrative violations were issued wrongly; many case were discovered late
and not handled in time, so the time for sanctioning was expired.
3.3.2. The reality of applying forms of handling administrative violations
in the field of environmental protection:
The sanction is mainly applied by imposed a fine of 1,559,827 dong.
Suspending operation of more than 640 facilities make environmental pollution.
There are over 77,191 forms were applied by recovering consequences.
However, there are still limitations such as choosing the wrong law for the level
of handling violations, it is not consistent with the nature and violation; the
additional sanctions have not been paid attention.
3.3.3. The reality of implementing procedures for handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection

OF HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
4.1. The viewpoints of improving the efficiency of handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
- To be fully aware of the viewpoint of sustainable development in issuing
legal policies and the law enforcement on handling administrative violations in
the field of environmental protection.
- Handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
should be associated with the process of building a socialist rule-of-law state,
ensuring the right to live in a clean environment.
- Handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
should be associated with ensuring the effectiveness of state management in the
field of environmental protection, associated with inspection activities and the
fighting against violations of law in the field of environmental protection,
ensuring prevention principle.
- To combine harmoniously between the state’s role in handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection and
participation of socio-political organizations and inhabitants in handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.
4.2. Solutions to improve the law on the handling of administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
4.2.1. Amending and supplementing provisions on the administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
- Supplementing a number administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection such as collecting, transporting, burying and treating
construction wastes; collecting, transporting, burying mud from dredging
canals, ponds, lakes and rivers; collecting, transporting, burying non-hazardous
medical wastes; collecting, transporting, burying non-hazardous wastes from
agricultural and aqua-cultural activities; failing to monitoring periodic waste;
not report the results of environmental monitoring in each stage; not submit

handling administrative violations for the Director of Environmental Protection
Branch under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Director
General of Vietnam General Department of Sea and Islands, Director of
Department of Resources Protection and Environment, Director of General
Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, Director of Department of Water
Resources Management, General Director of General Department of Fisheries,
Director of Fisheries Department.
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Third, amending regulations on competency of implementing decision to
suspend, enforce and confirm the recovered-consequences for those who
violating administration in the direction who issue decision of suspending or
force to implement decision on handling administrative violations; for decision
of applying forms of recovering consequences, the state management agencies
in the field of environmental protection will be the authorized subject
implements decision to suspend and force to implement the decision.
4.2.3. Amending and supplementing provisions on the handling of
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
- Abolishing and amending some provisions on fine in the 2012 law on the
handling of administrative violations, Decree 155 to ensure consistency.
- Increasing the minimum fine and the maximum fine when handling
violations of administration in the field of environmental protection but not
exceeding 2 billion dong.
- Amending and supplementing provisions on the forms of seizing material
evidences, preventing and ensuring the implementation and force to implement
decision on the handling of administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection.
- Supplementing forms of “putting real estate in pledge” into the 2012 law
on the handling of administrative violations to ensure imposing fine effectively.

violations in the field environmental Protection.
4.3.5. Solutions to improve the role of the community in handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.
Sub-conclusion of chapter 4

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CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
From research findings on the handling of administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection, the study draws the following conclusion:
1. The dissertation clarifies the concept, characteristics and role of handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.
2. The dissertation explains bases of handling administrative violations in
the field of environmental protection. It also clarifies the nature of forms and
procedures for handling administrative violations on protection of environment.
3. The study identifies factors affecting the process of handling
administrative violations.
4. The dissertation describes a system of the provisions of the law on
handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection in
Vietnam today, it then also seeks to assess the situation and analyze advantages
and disadvantages, withdraw causes of limitations in the legal system.
Analyzing and assessing the reality of implementing laws on handling
administrative violations in the field of environmental protection by competent
subjects.
5. The dissertation seeks to analyze relevant points of view that should be
thoroughly grasped when handling administrative violations.
6. The dissertation proposes solutions to improve the efficiency of this field.
Further research directions: Building coercive measures in cases that
coercive subjects fail to abide by coercive decisions on forcing to recover