VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VU THI THUY DUNG CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN VIETNAM CURRENTLY BRANCH CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE[.]
VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES - VU THI THUY DUNG CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN VIETNAM CURRENTLY BRANCH: CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE: 9380104 SUMMARY OF DOCTOR OF LAW THESIS HANOI – 2023 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES The thesis was completed at the Graduate Academy of social sciences Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences Science instructor: Associate Professors Doctor PHAM VAN LOI Examiner 1: Associate Professors Doctor Phung The Vac Examiner 2: Associate Professors Doctor Tran Dinh Nha Examiner 3: Associate Professors Doctor Truong Quang Vinh The thesis will be shown at the Academy-level Thesis Examining Council meeting at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences – Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, on ……… hour………… day ………… month ……… 2023 The thesis can be found at the library: - National Library of Vietnam - Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Hanoi – 2023 Introduction The urgency of the thesis topic Firstly, In recent decades, people have become increasingly aware of the role and importance of the environment in life as well as realizing that environmental protection is an urgent issue and it is a special concern to the nation and the international community Our Party, State and people are deeply aware of the special importance of environmental protection and this has been recognized in legal documents and sub-law documents However, in recent years, environmental crimes have been increasing in scale and nature; acts of encroachment on the environment are increasing in number, diversity, complexity in nature and level of danger Second, theoretically, in recent years, criminal law has been continuously researched, supplemented and improved to be consistent with our State's criminal policy through each period Criminal policy is the viewpoint of the Party and State on the fight to prevent and fight crime using many different measures, in which criminal law measures are the core to ensure political security and order in the society Improving criminal policy in general and criminal law policy in particular is an urgent task Third, practice shows that in economic development, taking advantage of socio-economic development policies, several illegal activities have appeared, demonstrating great danger to society In some places, illegal activities in many situations are severe but they have not been defined in the criminal law as crimes On the contrary, from the practical activities of the litigation agencies, it is shown that some illegal activities are no longer dangerous to society to a significant extent, and are no longer appropriate in current conditions, demonstrating that over the years, they has rarely happened, they have not been criminally prosecuted so they needs researching to eliminate Generally, the penalty system prescribed for environmental crime is strict and meets the purpose of punishing and educating criminals However, the provision of punishment in some crimes are conflict with general section The financial level determined in some provisions may still be unreasonable compared with the others and not commensurate with the nature and level of crime danger With the prosperous development of the country's economy, it will also pose challenges and difficulties for us in investigating and handling environmental crimes Therefore, the theoretical study as well as the assessment of the current status of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in order to grasp the advantages, difficulties, limitations, and shortcomings and thereby offer timely solutions to fight Preventing and combating environmental crime groups is an urgent and topical issue Stemming from the above analysis, the Ph.D student chose to research the topic "Criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today" as the topic of doctoral thesis Research purposes and tasks 2.1 Research purposes The thesis provides a theoretical system on criminal law policy on environmental crimes The thesis evaluates the advantages, limitations and difficulties in the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes On that basis, the thesis proposes solutions to improve the criminal law policy on environmental crimes, contributing to improving the effectiveness of the fight against this group of criminals quickly, promptly and effectively 2.2 Research tasks To achieve the above purpose, the thesis sets and solves the following main tasks: Firstly, Analyze the research situation at home and abroad related to the thesis, generally evaluate the scope and level of research of these works to determine the inherited content and problems need to continue research in the thesis Second, Clarify theoretical issues about criminal law policy on environmental crimes, including concepts, characteristics, goals, and content of criminal law policy on environmental crimes; areas of implementation of the criminal law policy on the environmental crimes Third, Assess the current performance of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes, including: policy on crime and policy on punishment for environmental crimes and practice of implementing criminal law policy in order to detect, handle and punish illegal activities of environmental crime groups Fourth, Proposing specific solutions to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes and solutions to improve the effectiveness of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today Subject and scope of research 3.1 Research subjects The research object of the thesis is theoretical and practical issues of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam 3.2 Research scope - Regarding content: Within the scope of the thesis's content, the author researches and focuses on clarifying theoretical issues on criminal law policy on environmental crimes, including crime policies and punishment policies on environmental crimes; assess the current situation and practice of implementing crime policies and punishment policies for environmental crimes; determine the orientation for completing criminal law policy on environmental crimes and propose specific solutions to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam in the coming time - About space: The thesis researches theoretical and practical issues related to crime policies and punishment policies for environmental crimes in Vietnam today - Regarding time: The thesis collects and researches statistical data from 2010 until now Research methodology and methods 4.1 Research methodology The thesis is researched on the basis of the dialectical materialist methodology of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, the viewpoints and lines of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the policies of the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnameseism on the country's renovation policy, the spirit of judicial reform, the strategy for building and perfecting the legal system, and activities in the fight against crime in general and the environmental crimes in particular 4.2 Research methods During the implementation of the thesis, depending on the requirements, the main purpose of each issue, each part, chapter, section ; the author intends to use the following specific methods: - Analytical method: study documents and articles related to criminal law policy on environmental crimes - Statistical methods: survey statistics, collect data on the implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes On the basis of the statistical data, the author analyzes, compares and evaluates the data to clarify the actual situation of implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes - Comparative legal method: theoretical and practical study of criminal law policy on environmental crimes through specific provisions of domestic criminal law over time; compare with regulations signed in international agreements that Vietnam has joined and signed - Method of summarizing practice: researching, summarizing and evaluating the results from the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes - Expert interview method: used to consult with officers, research experts on issues related to criminal policy and criminal law policy on environmental crimes This method can be conducted through publications, monographs, scientific topics, books, newspapers, legal journals that have been published and accepted with reference to the research content of the thesis - Sociological method of law: used to identify signs, objectives, principles and means of legal policy in general and criminal policy in particular New scientific contributions of the thesis This is the first doctoral thesis to systematically, comprehensively and indepth research on criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnamese criminal law, specifically: Firstly, the thesis continues to inherit, discover and introduce the concept and characteristics of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes Second, the thesis analyzes and clarifies the goals, objects and content of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes With the goals, the author identifies the specific basic goals that the criminal law policy on environmental crimes is aiming for Regarding the content, the author determines the content limits of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes: mainly determines the main content related to crime policy and punishment policy for environmental crimes Regarding the subject, the author identifies the subject of criminal law policy on environmental crimes as the basis and need for researching and completing criminal law policy for this group of criminals Thirdly, the thesis clarifies the actual situation of the policy on crime and the policy of punishment for environmental crimes Fourth, the thesis evaluates the practice of implementing criminal law policy to detect, handle and apply penalties to environmental crimes On the basis of the practical application of criminal law to dealing with environmental crimes, which is mainly expressed through statistics and specific cases, the author will give an assessment of the effectiveness of implementing the criminal law policy on environmental crimes, pointing out the difficulties and obstacles in practice to identify crimes as well as determine criminal responsibility and apply penalties Fifth, on the basis of the theory and practice of the criminal law policy on the environmental crimes that have been evaluated, the author proposes and suggests specific and practical solutions to improve the criminal law policy on environmental crimes And in order to have a basis for providing appropriate and feasible solutions, the author clarifies the orientations for proposing solutions to improve the criminal law policy on the environmental crimes Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis 6.1 Theoretical meaning The thesis provides a theoretical and practical basis for research activities on criminal law policy on environmental crimes Through the research results in the thesis, it will contribute to the construction and improvement of criminal law on environmental crimes; especially improving the effectiveness of applying criminal law to environmental crimes, aiming to limit and control this group of criminals to protect the current Vietnamese environment 6.2 Practical significance The thesis can be used as a reference for researchers on lawmaking, practical activities, and implementation and application of the law In addition, the thesis is also a useful document for researching and teaching the subjects Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law, Criminal Judgment Execution Law, Criminology, Criminal Investigation Science in academies, universities training in law Structure of the Thesis In addition to the introduction, conclusion, list of author's published research works related to the thesis and list of references, the thesis has a layout of chapters Chapter Overview of criminal law policy research on environmental crimes Chapter Theoretical issues of criminal law policy on environmental crimes Chapter Current status of criminal law policy on environmental crimes and practice of implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today Chapter Requirements and solutions to improve the effectiveness of criminal law policies on environmental crimes in Vietnam Chapter OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH SITUATION 1.1 Research situation abroad 1.1.1 Research projects related to criminal law policy Criminal law policy is perceived based on criminal policy, so it is necessary to be aware of the connotation of criminal policy In the world, Russian scientists have given some insights into criminal policy Specifically: Monograph "Criminal Policy of the Soviet State" by Doctor of Jurisprudence Bobetev in 1984; Monograph book "Crime and Criminal Justice Policy" by author Tim Newburn, Publishing House Longman, England, 1995; Monograph book "Criminal Justice Policy" by author Joan Petersilia, Jodi Lane, Publishing House E Elgar, England 1998; Monograph "Criminal Justice and the Policy Process" by authors James G Houston, Phillip B Bridgmon, William W Parsons, Publishing House University Press of America, UK, 2008 1.1.2 Research works and articles related to criminal law policies on environmental crimes Through the research process, the author found that currently there are no projects in the world researching criminal law policy on environmental crimes However, the projects have different approaches related to environmental crimes from the perspective of criminal law regulations Specifically: Documents at the 5th International Conference on implementation and compliance with environmental commitments "Transboundary Environmental Crimes: German Experiences and Approaches", Gallas, Andreas, Werner, Julia, Monterey, California, 1998; Monograph book "Environmental crime and justice" by authors Michael J Lynch and Paul B Stretesky, Publishing House Oxford, 2001; Monograph book "Environmental crime" by author group Mary Clifford and Terry S Edward co-editors, Publishing House Jones & Barlett Learning, England, 2012; "Handbook of Transnational Environmental Crime" by editor Lorraine M Elliott, William H Schaedla, Publisher Edward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated, UK, 2016; The article "The Strategy of Implementing Criminal Policy in Environmental Crimes" by authors Masoud Heidari and Noshin Dorri published in the Journal of Earth, Environment and Health Sciences, Islamic Azad University Isfahan, 2016; Monograph book "Transnational Environmental Crime" by author Rob White, Publishing House Taylor & Francis, England, 2018 The above studies show that most of them provide concepts and characteristics of environmental crimes to distinguish them from other types of crime The authors all agree that environmental crimes have the following features: they are illegal activities harming the human living environment, ecosystem and other related factors; impacts on social benefits Environmental crimes need to be paid more attention in the context of globalization The above studies researched on practical acts of harm to the natural and artificial environment, including: illegal waste discharge, wildlife trade, environmental pollution, fight and prevention of environmental crimes by authorities, transnational environmental crimes activities or the perspective of comparative law However, through the above research projects, there is no research project that has provided a comprehensive concept and covers the components of environmental crimes The studies are mainly research through practice instead of researching on theory However, the approach to research problems of the authors in research projects is an experience that PhD students can learn in the process of conducting research on the issues of the thesis 1.2 Research situation in the country 1.2.1 Research projects related to criminal law policy The monograph "Vietnam Criminal Law (volume 1) - General issues" by author Dao Tri Uc in 2000 was published by the Publishing House Social science Continuing to develop cognitive thinking related to criminal law science in general and criminal policy in particular, Professor Dr Le Van Cam has compiled a monograph on "Basic issues in Criminal Law science (general part)” in 2005, republished in 2019, published by Publishing House Published by Hanoi National University "Criminal policy and the implementation of criminal policy in our country", Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence by Pham Thu, Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, 2005 Ministerial-level scientific research project "Some issues of criminal policy in the period of promoting industrialization and modernization of the country" by Dr Pham Van Loi, project leader, Institute of Legal Sciences Ministry of Justice, Hanoi, 2006 "Criminal policy in the reform period in Vietnam" by Dr Pham Van Loi (editor), Publishing House Justice, Hanoi, 2007 “Criminalization, decriminalization; criminalizing and decriminalizing acts that violate the economic management order in Vietnam in the current period", Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence by Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law Ho Chi Minh, 2012 "Criminal policy towards juvenile offenders in Vietnam today", Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence by Hoang Minh Duc, Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, 2016 "Vietnam's criminal law policy towards position-related crimes" Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence by author Doan Trung Doan, Academy of Social Sciences was defended in 2017 Monograph "Vietnam's criminal policy before the challenge of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution", book published in 2020, Publishing House Justice To supplement legal science with in-depth research works on legal principles, as well as convey appropriate and correct perceptions about legal principles, Prof Dr Vo Khanh Vinh has compiled the postgraduate textbook "Legal policy", published in 2020, Social Sciences Publishing House "Vietnam's criminal law policy on crimes of intellectual property rights infringement" Doctoral thesis in jurisprudence by author Tran Van Hai, Academy of Social Sciences defended in 2021 1.2.2 Research projects related to criminal law policy on environmental crimes Ministerial-level scientific research project "Theoretical and practical basis of criminal liability for environmental crimes" by Dr Pham Van Loi Head of the project, Institute of Legal Sciences – Ministry of Justice, Hanoi, 2003 Monograph "Environmental Crime - Some theoretical and practical issues" by Dr Pham Van Loi (Editor), Publishing House National politics, Hanoi, 2004 Doctoral thesis "Criminal liability for environmental crimes" by Duong Thanh An, Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, 2011 Scientific conference "Environmental crime - International experience, legal status and proposals for improvement in the Criminal law (amended)" organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in collaboration with the Public Science Committee technology and environment of the National Assembly, United Nations Development Program held in October 2015 Doctoral thesis "Environmental crimes in Vietnam: Situation, causes and prevention solutions" by Nguyen Huu Hoa, Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, 2019 Doctoral thesis "Environmental crimes in Vietnamese criminal law" by Ngo Ngoc Diem, Faculty of Law - Hanoi National University, Hanoi, 2021 Doctoral thesis "Preventing environmental crimes in Ha Tinh province" by Nguyen Dinh Luan, Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, 2021 11 identifies requirements to ensure the completion of criminal law policy on environmental crimes and solutions to perfect criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today 1.4 Research hypotheses and research questions 1.4.1 Research hypothesis Firstly, the theory of criminal law policy on environmental crimes has been formed but is not complete or unified There are still issues that need to be developed and systematized Second, the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in building criminal law on environmental crimes; in applying criminal law on environmental crimes and in building and developing awareness of criminal law on environmental crimes, it is necessary to clarify and point out limitations and shortcomings that need to be dealed with Third, solutions to perfecting criminal law on environmental crimes as well as solutions to ensure the implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes have not been mentioned It is necessary to propose solutions to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes that are effective and systematic in the context of judicial reform and international integration trends 1.4.2 Research question Based on the above research hypotheses, the thesis aims to address the following research questions: What is the concept of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes ? What are the characteristics of the current criminal law policy on environmental crimes? How is it different from other criminal groups? What are the goals of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes? Based on what basis to determine the goals of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes? What is the content of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes ? In what areas are criminal law policy on environmental crimes implemented? What are the characteristics of applying criminal law policy on environmental crimes in building criminal law on environmental crimes in Vietnam? What are the characteristics of applying criminal law policy on environmental crimes in applying criminal law on environmental crimes in Vietnam? 12 What are the characteristics of applying criminal law policy on environmental crimes in building and developing awareness of criminal law on environmental crimes in Vietnam? What requirements must be met to complete the criminal law policy on environmental crimes? What solutions are needed to perfect criminal law policy on environmental crimes and ensure the implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam in the coming time? Conclusion of chapter Researching domestic and foreign research projects on criminal law policy on environmental crimes, we can come to some conclusions as follows: Based on documents such as dissertations, textbooks, monographs, scientific topics, articles published in magazines and based on the research object of criminal law policy on environmental crimes, the thesis has been declared the content of the research situation according to two major issues: Domestic research situation and foreign research situation In particular, the thesis has selected multidisciplinary documents and approached research documents according to each group of issues: research works on criminal law policy and research works on criminal law policy on environmental crimes Scientific research works around the world have mentioned environmental crimes quite early, a large number of general research works and solving specific practical situations There are many valuable scientific perspectives that need to be absorbed to research corresponding issues in Vietnam, as well as used to evaluate the practical application of regulations on environmental crimes There are some in-depth studies on environmental crimes but the approach to the problem is not based on a dialectical materialist perspective but focuses on in-depth research on each specific case In Vietnam, environmental crimes have been researched by scientists since the 1985 Criminal law was introduced and have been researched the most since the 1999 Criminal law and before the 2015 Criminal law took effect Many scientific works provide relatively comprehensive research on a number of issues related to environmental crimes in different scopes The research results contributed to clarifying theoretical issues regarding environmental crimes However, scientific research works that mention the issue of environmental crimes are still scattered, dealing with small issues, mainly researching the provisions of the Criminal law on environmental crimes and there are no research projects that have researched on criminal law policy on environmental crimes However, the above-mentioned scientific research projects have provided the author with theoretical issues 13 and practical experience in the fight against environmental crimes as a basis for continuing research and recommendations to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam With this thesis, the author hopes to provide and supplement the theoretical system on criminal law policy in general and criminal law policy on environmental crimes in particular, as well as provide an assessment of the advantages, limitations, and shortcomings in the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes On that basis, we will propose and suggest a number of important solutions to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes, contributing to the effective implementation of the set goals against this group of criminals Chapter THEORETICAL ISSUES OF CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES 2.1 Concepts and characteristics of criminal law policy on environmental crimes 2.1.1 Concept Criminal law policies on environmental crimes are the State's policies, guidelines, and strategies in building and using criminal law in the fight against environmental crimes effectively, contributing to environmental protection; protecting human life and health; harmoniously resolving the relationship between economic development and sustainable environmental protection 2.1.2 Characteristic Firstly, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes stem from the social danger of environmental violations: depending on the nature and extent of environmental violations, violators can be punished by administrative measures or criminal law Second, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes come from the national environmental protection policy Third, criminal law policy on environmental crimes are influenced by international factors: most countries, especially developed countries, have policies to build their own legal systems to protect the environment effectively Fourth, the subjects of the criminal law policy on environmental crimes include three groups: the subjects of planning and building the criminal law policy on environmental crimes; the subject of implementation of criminal 14 law policy; subjects participating in implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes 2.2 Objectives and principles of criminal law policy on environmental crimes 2.2.1 Objectives of criminal law policy on environmental crimes Firstly, criminal law policy on environmental crimes must ensure feasibility: Build and perfect the legal system for environmental crimes; develop a mechanism to effectively implement legal regulations on handling environmental crimes; mobilize the strength of the entire population to participate in detecting and denouncing crimes Second, Protecting human rights against the negative impacts of environmental crimes: with the serious damage caused by environmental crimes to humans, the completion and correct implementation of legal regulations for this group of crimes also aims to protect human life and health because these are the most basic human rights Third, environmental protection is associated with socio-economic development Fourth, Promote international cooperation on environmental crimes 2.2.2 Principles of criminal law policy on environmental crimes The Criminal Law Policy on Environmental crimes is built and implemented according to basic ideas, arguments, and directional and guiding values The principles of the Criminal Law Policy on Environmental crimes are the basic fundamental ideas that determine the general approach of state power to strategic-oriented activities in regulating criminal relations Specifically: Firstly, ensuring humanitarian principles; Second, ensure scientificity and feasibility; Third, ensure feasibility; Fourth, ensure consistency and synchronization; Fifth, ensure human rights and civil rights 2.3 Requirements and factors ensuring the development and implementation of criminal law policies on environmental crimes 2.3.1 Requirements of criminal law policy on environmental crimes Firstly, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes must continue to affirm the progressive legal viewpoints and ideas of human civilization, fairness, humanity, democracy, and legality in the socialist rule-of-law state, which considers human rights and freedoms the noblest social values Second, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes must create the basis for building legal regulations of criminal law related to environmental crimes Third, criminal law policy on environmental crimes must create a foundation for building solutions, plans, and overall strategies for preventing environmental crimes 15 Fourth, criminal law policy on environmental crimes must contribute to forming a common legal system between the Party and the State of Vietnam in solving and managing social issues 2.3.2 Factors ensuring the development and implementation of criminal law policies on environmental crimes Criminal law policy on environmental crimes is implemented through main directions including: Firstly, developing criminal law (criminal legislation); Second, implementing criminal law (applying criminal law); Third, explain criminal law; Fourth, legal awareness and legal qualifications 2.4 Factors affecting criminal law policy on environmental crimes Criminal law policy on environmental crimes involves a series of policy processes, starting from planning, and organizing policy implementation to analyzing and evaluating policies Each step in that process is carried out by certain subjects and is influenced by one or a certain group of factors, which may be the same or different depending on each activity Firstly, the economic, political, cultural, and social situation of the country Second, the movement trend of the situation of environmental crimes and the practice of fighting and preventing environmental crimes Third, Requirements for developing and perfecting the provisions of criminal law in investigating, prosecuting, adjudicating, and executing criminal judgments on environmental crimes Fourth, Urgent demands for criminal justice activities and judicial reform Fifth, the Capacity to enforce criminal law policies on environmental crimes of competent state agencies 2.5 Content of criminal law policy on environmental crimes 2.5.1 Crime policy on environmental crimes Crime policy on environmental crimes is expressed through the determination of appropriate standards to consider a socially dangerous behavior as a crime, as well as the elimination of behaviors that were once considered crimes exit the criminal justice system when it is no longer appropriate and necessary 2.5.2 Policy on punishment for environmental crimes Punishment policy for environmental crimes is an inevitable consequence of crime policy: the level of criminal liability treatment depends on evaluating socially dangerous behaviors specified in environmental crimes If the crime law policy on environmental crimes represents the response of the State and society to socially dangerous behavior regarding this type of crime, then the punishment policy represents the attitude of the State and society in dealing with crimes and people who commit environmental crimes The policy on punishment for environmental crimes can be strict or lenient 16 This policy is thoroughly implemented in all regulations on penalties for environmental crimes Conclusion of Chapter Researching criminal law policy on environmental crimes is a complex political and legal thinking activity because it is created by many related elements including characteristics, goals, objects, and content Therefore, to perfect the criminal law policy on environmental crimes, it is first necessary to properly understand the theoretical basis of criminal law policy in general and criminal law policy on environmental crimes in particular It is a systematic, scientific, and logical study of the concepts and typical characteristics of criminal law policy on environmental crimes to grasp the nature and connotation of each activity, serving as a cognitive basis in the process of researching The author's awareness activities on criminal law policy on environmental crimes were formed and developed based on theoretical foundations of legal policy in general and criminal law policy in particular that were previously put forward by researchers and scientists However, this process is acquired and applied dialectically and scientifically when associated with the study of criminal law policy for a specific group of criminals As mentioned, this is a complex political and legal cognitive process, therefore, the arguments, opinions, concepts, and other theoretical bases given are fundamental and relative This cognitive process will continue to be developed in the future, to create a complete theoretical basis to analyze and evaluate the current situation, thereby providing solutions to improve criminal law policy in general and criminal law policy on environmental crimes in particular in each stage of the country's development 17 Chapter CURRENT SITUATION OF CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES AND PRACTICE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN VIETNAM TODAY 3.1 Current status of criminal law policy on environmental crimes To thoroughly and deeply perceive the viewpoints, guidelines, and policies of our Party and State expressed in the Criminal law Policy on Environmental crimes requires a thorough vision, and comprehensive thinking and must always be linked to specific historical circumstances The provisions of the Criminal law on crimes and punishments for environmental crimes only reflect a part of the criminal law Policy on Environmental crimes, but some parts also reflect, clarify, and describe the goals, viewpoints, and guidelines for criminal handling of environmental crimes 3.1.1 Criminal law policy on environmental crimes from 1945 to 1985 3.1.2 Criminal law policy on environmental crimes from 1985 to 1999 3.1.3 Criminal law policy on environmental crimes from 1999 to 2015 3.1.4 Criminal law policy on environmental crimes from 2015 to present 3.2 Practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today 3.2.1 Situation of handling violations of environmental laws The situation of legal violations in the environmental field is increasing, and the rate of handling cases out of the total number of environmental law enforcement cases is high, especially in recent years, The processing rate is over 90%, showing the great efforts of competent agencies and units Although criminal cases of environmental violations are low, they tend to increase over the years 3.2.2 Current status of judging environmental crimes Firstly, Illegal acts in the environmental field have been increasing over the years, but mainly administrative handling and criminal handling account for a small number of cases Sentences for environmental crimes also account for a small proportion compared to the total number of criminal cases, demonstrating that environmental crimes are sophisticated, complex, and difficult to detect and handle Second, the cases are investigated, prosecuted, and tried according to a procedural order of law; There were no cases with procedural errors, and were brought to trial promptly, fairly, and by the law Third, in environmental crimes, the crime of violating regulations on management and protection of endangered, rare animals (Old Article 190, 18 New Article 244), followed by the crime of destroying forests, is the most brought to trial (Old Article 189, new 243), followed by crimes of violating regulations on management of wildlife sanctuaries & crimes of destroying aquatic resources Fourth, the practice of adjudicating environmental crimes does not fully reflect the nature and severity of this type of crime Fifth, the rate of criminal cases related to environmental crimes that have been brought to trial in 13 years (from 2010 to 2022) is still very low compared to violations that are handled administratively, demonstrating the results of the fighting to prevent and combat environmental supplements that not meet practical requirements 3.2.3 Awareness of criminal law on environmental crimes Reality shows that raising people's awareness about environmental protection and environmental crimes has not had many significant changes over the years In many places, the community is still indifferent to the issue of environmental protection and environmental crimes, or in some places, people are not fully aware and not proactively and actively participate in environmental protection and environmental crime prevention In many places, people focus on immediate economic benefits, overlooking environmental protection and environmental crime prevention 3.3 Evaluating the practice of implementing criminal law policies on environmental crimes in Vietnam today 3.3.1 These achievements Firstly, the criminal law on environmental crimes expressed in Vietnam's current criminal law has institutionalized the guidelines and policies of the Party and State on building a socialist law-governed state and judicial reform strategy Second, the criminal law on environmental crimes creates sharp and effective legal tools to fight and prevent environmental crimes carried out under the conditions of building a socialist law-governed state Third, the criminal law on environmental crimes expressed in Vietnam's current criminal law has been planned in a way that promotes preventive effectiveness; and respect and ensure full implementation of human rights, basic rights, and obligations of citizens recognized in the 2013 Constitution Fourth, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes expressed in current Vietnamese criminal law has been built using democratic and public mechanisms to ensure the highest and most complete expression of the will and sovereignty of the people Fifth, the criminal law on environmental crimes expressed in current Vietnamese criminal law has been built based on objective, well-founded 19 analysis and ensures the persuasiveness of existing social relationships and will develop in Vietnamese society Sixth, People's courts at all levels perform well in adjudicating criminal cases on environmental crimes The determination of charges for most environmental crimes brought to trial is the right person, the right crime, and the right provisions of the law This is good information that shows the thinking and assessment of the jury in agreement with the provisions of law in the trial of environmental crimes 3.3.2 Limitations, problems and causes Firstly, setting guidelines, and policies, building criminal law on environmental crimes is often lacking in synchronization and is heavy on changing situational solutions, so there are many cases in which the legal regulations on environmental crimes have contradictions and overlaps Second, the mechanism for building a system of criminal law on environmental crimes still has irrationalities and has not been considered for innovation and improvement; The legal policy is often changed, sometimes develops unbalanced and comprehensive, lacks strategic forecasts, and is not prioritized in solving pressing problems of social life Third, there is a lack of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of criminal law regulations on environmental crimes Fourth, in terms of legislative techniques, many criminal law regulations on environmental crimes reveal many limitations, shortcomings, and lack of rigor, and have not anticipated all possible real-life situations for adjustment Fifth, many criminal law regulations for research on environmental crimes are not thorough and profound, leading to low quality and not consistent with practice Sixth, the work of developing criminal law on environmental crimes has not yet met the current needs of the reform process The above limitations can be attributed to many different reasons, however The main reasons leading to the above limitations and shortcomings are: The competent State agency has not yet planned a program building comprehensive and strategic criminal law; Training and improving the qualifications of legal officers and theoretical research on law have not kept pace with practical requirements; The organization and implementation of criminal law is still lacking in rigor; lack of coordination between competent agencies Conclusion of Chapter Evaluating criminal law policies on environmental crimes is an important activity that captures the achievements as well as the benefits in the process 20 of building laws and implementing criminal law policies on this group of crimes Thereby, continuing to promote the achievements as well as the strengths in the process of implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes At the same time, identify the difficulties, limitations, and formulas for criminal law policy regarding this group of crimes to research the causes and propose perfect strategies and solutions First of all, evaluate the current state of criminal law policy on environmental crimes That is an assessment of the current status of policy regulations on crime and punishment for environmental crimes The process of evaluating criminal law policy on environmental crimes is also shown through the assessment of the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in applying criminal law on environmental crimes and evaluating the construction and development of criminal law awareness on environmental crimes Through evaluation, it is clear that basically the criminal law policy on environmental crimes has met the set goals However, in the face of rapid socio-economic development, the criminal law policy on environmental crimes has not yet achieved effective results Therefore, evaluating the practical implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes is the basis for orienting strategies to improve criminal law policy on this group of criminals in the future 21 Chapter REQUIREMENTS AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CRIMINAL LAW POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN VIETNAM 4.1 Request to improve the effectiveness of criminal law policies on environmental crimes 4.1.1 Completing criminal law policies on environmental crimes suitable with the Party and State's views on environmental protection in the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country 4.1.2 Improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes suitable with economic interests 4.1.3 Improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes suitable to the country's political, social, and cultural needs 4.1.4 Improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes suitable to international standards 4.2 Solutions to improve the effectiveness of criminal law policies on environmental crimes 4.2.1 Improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes 4.2.2 Planning criminal law policy on environmental crimes 4.2.3 Organize the enforcement of criminal law policies on environmental crimes 4.2.4 Analyze and evaluate criminal law policies on environmental crimes 4.2.5 Strengthen propaganda, dissemination, education, and guidance on implementing criminal law policies on environmental crimes 4.2.6 Establishment of a specialized environmental court 4.2.7 Political and ideological education, professional ethics, and improving the professional qualifications of Judges and Jurors 4.2.8 International cooperation and coordination in detecting and handling environmental crimes4.3 Solutions to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes Conclusion of Chapter Completing criminal law policy on environmental crimes is a complex political-legal thinking activity This activity is based on two basic foundations: (1) theoretical foundation on legal policy in general and criminal law policy on environmental crimes in particular and (2) practical basis for the current status of implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes 22 Grasping the requirements to come up with solutions for perfecting criminal law policy on environmental crimes is very important, helping us correctly determine the requirements from social life for completion, and identify the issues that need to be addressed and on that basis, correctly determine specific solutions To perfect criminal law policy on environmental crimes requires optimal solutions, suitable to the country's economic, and socio-political conditions in the new situation, as well as by development trends and international practices relating to this group of crimes Within the scope of the research, PhD student has proposed several directions for improvement such as continuing to research to criminalization of several acts related to environmental crimes to synchronize and unify with other related legal documents to contribute part of improving the effectiveness of preventing and fighting environmental crimes; amend and supplement several signs in constituting crimes to be consistent with practice, promptly promulgate legal documents guiding the application of criminal law on environmental crimes; amend sanctions for some crimes to suit the current practical situation; competent state agencies need to quickly issue legal documents guiding the implementation of the provisions of the 2015 Criminal law on environmental crimes so that when put into practice, there will be no confusion or problems In addition to solutions for perfecting criminal law, there needs to be solutions to improve the effectiveness of implementation and application of criminal law policy on environmental crimes in practice such as: planning criminal law policy on environmental crimes suitable to reality; Developing a plan to implement the criminal law policy on environmental crimes; strengthen propaganda, dissemination, education and guidance on implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes; urging the implementation of criminal law policy on environmental crimes and evaluating and summarizing lessons learned; establishment of a specialized court on the environment; These are basic and important solutions that contribute to perfecting criminal law policy on environmental crimes in the coming time 23 CONCLUDE Researching the provisions of Vietnam's criminal law on environmental crimes in the history of criminal legislation over time shows that, at any stage, criminal law policy on environmental crimes needs to be supplemented, amended, and developed in the direction of more complete, strict and inheriting the advantages of the criminal law policy of previous periods Vietnam's current criminal law system has basically met the practical requirements of fighting and preventing crimes in general and environmental crimes in particular This is clearly shown in the Documents of the Communist Party of Vietnam Congress on Environmental Protection Through theoretical and practical research on criminal law policy on environmental crimes, it has been shown that: In Vietnam, environmental crimes have been researched by scientists since the 1985 criminal law was introduced and have been researched the most since the 1999 Criminal law and before the 2015 Criminal law took effect Many scientific works provide relatively comprehensive research on several issues related to environmental crimes in different scopes The research results contributed to clarifying theoretical issues regarding environmental crimes However, scientific research works that mention the issue of environmental crimes are still scattered, dealing with small issues, mainly researching the provisions of the Criminal law on environmental crimes and there are no research projects that have researched criminal law policy on environmental crimes However, the above-mentioned scientific research projects have provided the author with theoretical issues and practical experience in the fight against environmental crimes as a basis for continuing research and recommendations to improve criminal law policy on environmental crimes in Vietnam today to meet the requirements of fighting crime in general and environmental crimes in particular With such meaning, the author has focused on researching, analyzing, interpreting, and clarifying the results achieved, limitations, shortcomings and scientific gaps expressed in the projects related to criminal law policy on environmental crimes in domestic country and abroad Criminal law policies on environmental crimes are created by many factors Each factor plays an important role in the process of planning, building, and implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes The author's awareness activities on Criminal law policy on environmental crimes were formed and developed based on theoretical foundations of legal policy in general and criminal law policy in particular that were previously put forward by researchers and scientists However, this process is acquired 24 and applied dialectically and scientifically when associated with the study of criminal law policy for a specific group of criminals Evaluating the criminal law policy on environmental crimes is an important activity to grasp the achievements as well as the advantages in the process of developing laws and implementing the criminal law policy on this group of criminals Thereby, continuing to promote the achievements as well as the strengths in the process of implementing criminal law policy on environmental crimes At the same time, identify the difficulties, limitations, and challenges for criminal law policy on environmental crimes regarding this group of crimes, from which to research the causes and propose perfect strategies and solutions To develop solutions to perfect criminal law policy on environmental crimes, it must be done scientifically, synchronously, and appropriately based on understanding the requirements and orientations for perfecting criminal law policy for this group of criminals Grasping the requirements to come up with solutions for perfecting criminal law policy on environmental crimes is very important, helping us correctly determine the requirements from social life for completion, and identify the issues that need to be addressed and on that basis, correctly determine specific solutions It can be affirmed that the research results of the thesis only stop at clarifying the most important and basic issues, and also the initial values and many other contents related to the issue of criminal law policy on environmental crimes have not been fully explained in this topic Because the research scope of the topic is relatively wide, the research content is interesting and difficult along with the research conditions and limited resources are limited, the author cannot avoid shortcomings I hope to receive contributions from teachers, scientists, and colleagues so that I can research this issue more deeply in the near future 25 LIST OF RESEARCH WORKS AUTHOR'S PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THE THESIS Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2018), Solutions to improve the effectiveness of implementing the current Criminal law in the Court's adjudication of environmental crimes, Court Journal, No 14/2018 , pages 34 - 36 Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2018), New regulations of the 2015 Criminal law (amended, supplemented in 2017) for environmental crimes, Education and Society Magazine, August/ 2018 pp 267-270 Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2019), Criminal law policy on environmental crimes - Some theoretical issues, Journal of Education and Society, October 2019, pages 113 - 118 Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2019), Solutions to perfect the current criminal law on environmental crimes in Vietnam today, Education and Society Magazine, April 2019, pages 306 - 309 Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2020), Practical application of criminal law policies on environmental crimes in investigation, prosecution and trial, Education and Society Magazine, July 2020, pages 107 - 111 Vu Thi Thuy Dung (2021), Criminal law policies on environmental crimes in some countries in the world, IJARW | ISSN (O) - 2582-1008 November 2021, pp.37 - 42 | Vol Issues www.ijarw.com