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

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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


protection, 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
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environmental protection are considered the basic nucleus of the system of law
on handling administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.
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

- Analyzing the theoretical issues on handling of administrative violations
in the field of environmental protection such as: concepts, characteristics of
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
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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).

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.

practice. it then draws causes of the limitations.
- Giving arguments on the perspective and propose some solutions to
improve the efficiency of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
6. Theoretical and practical significance of the dissertation
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

administrative violation in the field of environmental protection in Vietnam
before 2015.
- Giving solutions to improve the law on administrative violations, as well
as competence and forms of handling administrative violations
1.2.2. Issues that need further study
- Previous research works have not given a full concept of 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
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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



field of environmental protection is that violations occurred in practice but has
been anticipated by administrative law; the handling competence will be based
on the principle of empowering state administrative agencies in this field.
Forms of handling administrative violations on protection of environment
include sanctions, consequence recovery, administrative suppression to ensure
the implementation of decisions on handling administrative violations; force to
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

responsibility capacity or infringing on social relations in the field of
environmental protection and must be handled by certain forms of handling
administrative violations under the law’s regulations.
Administrative violations in the field of environmental protection also have
characteristics: The objects of administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection are very diverse; administrative violation acts in this
filed are also diverse; the subjects-violated include individuals and
organizations. In addition to the subjects directly violate administration in the
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.

process and easily lead to negative and take much time.
2.2.1.2. The role of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
2.2.2. Forms of handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection
- Sanctioning administrative violations includes major and additional
penalties: warning is applied for individuals, organizations that their violation
is not serious, with extenuating circumstances or for all acts of administrative
violations by minors from full 14 to under 16 years of age. Imposing fine is
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,
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environmental license; checking transport means and objects, as well as places
store material evidence and means of administrative violations.
- Forcing to implement decision on handling administrative violations in
the field of environmental protection including: deducting part of salary or


Sub-conclusion of chapter 2

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Chapter 3
THE REALITY HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN
THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
3.1. The reality of the law on handling administrative violations in the
field of environmental protection
3.1.1. The reality of the law on subjects of handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
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

procedures of handling exhibits and means; procedures of enforcing decisions.
The current regulations on these procedures still reveal some shortcomings in
terms of time, prescription; scope of application of explanatory procedures in
handling administrative violations is relatively narrow.
Summary, the law on handling administrative violations in the field of
environmental protection has many advantages but also has many limitations
such as not ensuring consistency and uniformity; there are many shortcomings;
integration and the compatibility between domestic law and international law
are not high. Evaluate 4 causes of restrictions.
3.2. Administrative violations in the field of environmental protection
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In the period 2012-2018, there were 93,011,000 cases of administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection. The figure is increasing. If
the year 2012 just had 10,297 cases, it increased to 14,054 cases in 2014. The
year 2015 tends to decrease but this figure has dramatically increased in 2016.
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

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
Most of administrative violations were dealt with under procedures with
records. In general, the process of handling administrative violations has
complied with the law on the time to issue decisions. However, there are still
certain limitations to implement procedures of handling violations such as
some localities still have errors in the documents; some decisions still have
many errors such as mistaking forms of additional sanctions for recovering
consequences; issuing sanctioning decisions beyond the time since the date of
making the violation records.
Summary, the law enforcement in handling administrative violations in the
field of environment protection in Vietnam has many advantages but pointing
out some limitations such as missing administrative violations; many cases
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were discovered late and not handled in time; the issued decisions but there are
still many subjects who are not complied with.
3.4. Causes results achieved and limited of administrative violations in
the field of environment protection in Vietnam
Assessing 4 causes of advantages, and causes of the limitations: there is no
consensus of viewpoints in handling administrative violations; the apparatus
and staffs who are charged in handling administrative violations to be
ineffective; some individuals and organizations have not yet complied with the

- Handling administrative violations in the field of environmental
protection should be associated with the process of building a socialist rule-oflaw 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
results of monitoring waste to the competent agencies. In case, must be carried
out monitoring environment but not done in reports of assessing environment
impacts, environmental protection projects and equivalent environmental files
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under the competence of provincial-level People’s Committee or agencies were
authorized by the provincial-level People's Committee; violation acts in



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.
4.2.4. Amending and supplementing a number of
provisions on procedures for handling administrative
violations in the field of environmental protection
- Increasing prescription, time is considered to have not been violated by
the law in the field of environmental protection. Expanding the scope of
applying the right to explain in case of seizing material evidences and means
and the right to use practicing certificate.