Joint Circular No. 19/2007/TTLT-BNN&PTNT-BTP-BCA-VKSNDTC-TANDTC guiding the application of certain provisions of the Criminal Code regarding crimes in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Applying Certain Provisions of the Criminal Code Regarding Offenses

in the field of forest management, forest protection, and timber management

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To apply correctly and uniformly certain provisions of the Criminal Code of 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the CC) regarding offenses in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the Supreme People's Court have jointly issued the following guidelines:

I. REGARDING CERTAIN DETAILS THAT ARE CRIMINAL ELEMENTS OR SENTENCING FRAMES

1. Being considered as "having been administratively punished for this act but still committing a violation" as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 175, Clause 1 Article 189 of the CC if previously administratively punished for one of the acts listed in Clause 1 of Article 175 or Clause 1 of Article 189 of the CC, but not yet having reached the period during which such administrative punishment would be deemed not to have occurred according to the law on administrative violations, and then committing one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of the corresponding articles.

2. "Abusing position and power" as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 176, Point b Clause 2 Article 189, Point b Clause 2 Article 190 of the CC refers to cases where individuals with positions and powers in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management use their assigned positions and powers to commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of Article 176, Clause 1 of Article 189, or Clause 1 of Article 190 of the CC.

3. "Misusing position and power" as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 176 of the CC refers to cases where individuals with positions and powers in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management use their assigned positions and powers beyond the scope of their authority to commit one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of Article 176 of the CC.

4. Being considered as "having been disciplined for this act but still committing a violation" as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 176 of the CC if previously individuals with positions and powers in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management were disciplined for one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of Article 176 of the CC, but not yet having reached the period during which such disciplinary action would be deemed erased, and then committing one of those acts.

5. Being considered as "having been convicted of this offense, not yet having had the criminal record expunged, and still committing a violation" as stipulated in Clause 1 Article 175 of the CC if previously convicted of an offense under Article 175 of the CC, but not yet having had the criminal record expunged, and then committing one of the acts specified in this article.

II. REGARDING CERTAIN TERMS USED IN THE CIRCULAR

1. "Maximum administrative penalty amount" means the maximum damage in terms of forest area, volume of forest products, value of other types of forest products calculated in Vietnamese Dong (VND) according to the Government's regulations on administrative penalties in the field of forest management, forest protection, and forest product management for each violation at the time of the violation or at the time of handling, if the new regulations at the time of handling are more favorable to the violator.

2. "Endangered, precious, rare plants and animals group IA, IIA; endangered, precious, rare animals group IB, IIB" refers to endangered, precious, rare forest plants and animals as defined by the Government.

For species of wild animals not belonging to group IB but included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), they shall be treated as group IB.

3. "Wood" used in this Circular includes roundwood, sawnwood, and processed wood.

III. DETERMINATION OF DAMAGE TO FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS

1. Units of measurement for determining damage

1.1. Forest area measured in square meters (m²).

1.2. Volume of wood measured in cubic meters (m³) converted to roundwood. Conversion from sawnwood or processed wood to roundwood is done by multiplying by a factor of 1.6.

1.3. Number of endangered, precious, rare animals group IB counted in individuals (heads).

1.4. Other types of forest products valued in Vietnamese Dong (VND).

1.5. Volume of firewood measured in steres.

2. Method of determining damage

2.1. Measurement of forest area is carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

2.2. Measurement and calculation of wood volume and forest products are carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2.3. Determination of the value of other types of forest products is based on market prices in the locality at the time of the criminal act. In cases where the market price cannot be determined in the locality (due to the absence of trade in that type of forest product) and there are no other legal provisions, the value of such forest products is determined by the decision of the competent state agency.

IV. SPECIFIC OFFENSES

1. Offense of Violating Regulations on Forest Harvesting and Protection (Article 175 of the CC)

1.1. "Illegal harvesting of forest trees" includes the following acts:

a) Harvesting forest trees in production forests, protective forests, special-use forests without permission from the competent state authorities when such harvesting requires a permit and the permit is still valid;

b) Harvesting forest trees outside the permitted area;

c) Harvesting forest trees without the required felling mark (chop mark) in cases where such marks are required by law;

d) Exceeding the permitted volume of harvested forest trees (the excess volume).

1.2. "Other acts violating state regulations on forest harvesting and protection" include acts other than illegal harvesting of forest trees that violate state regulations on forest harvesting and protection.

In cases where illegal harvesting occurs in planted forests, regeneration forests that have been decided by the competent state authorities to be allocated to organizations, collectives, households, or individuals for long-term stable use for forestry purposes, and the person allocated has invested in planting, caring for, and protecting the forest, the following measures will be taken:

a) If the forest owner illegally harvests forest trees, they will be prosecuted criminally according to Article 175 of the CC;

b) If the person illegally harvesting forest trees is not the forest owner, they will be prosecuted criminally according to the relevant articles in Chapter XIV "Offenses Against Property Rights" of the CC.

1.3. "Illegally transporting or trading in wood" refers to acts of transporting or trading in wood contrary to state regulations (such as transporting wood without proper procedures, trading in wood without a business license or with an expired license...).

In cases of illegally trading or transporting timber across borders, depending on specific circumstances, the offender may be held criminally responsible under Article 153 or Article 154 of the Penal Code.

1.4. "Causing serious consequences" as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 175 of the Penal Code when any of the following situations occur:

a) Causing damage to forest products (excluding wild animals) from above the maximum administrative fine level to twice the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for each violation;

Example: The current maximum administrative fine level prescribed for the illegal extraction of ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII in production forests is 20m³. If illegally extracting more than 20m³ up to 40m³ constitutes causing serious consequences.

b) Illegally extracting, transporting, or trading two or more types of wood (ordinary wood from Group I to Group III with ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII; ordinary wood with precious and rare wood from Group IIA), where the volume of each type of wood does not exceed the maximum administrative fine level but the total volume of wood in the violation exceeds the maximum administrative fine level to twice the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII for the corresponding act;

Example 1: Pham Minh H illegally extracted 13m³ of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII and 9m³ of round ordinary wood from Group I to Group III in production forests. In total, H illegally extracted 22m³. According to current regulations, the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for the illegal extraction of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII in production forests is 20m³; therefore, Pham Minh H's actions fall under the situation of causing serious consequences.

Example 2: Tran Van C illegally extracted 11m³ of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII, 7m³ of round ordinary wood from Group I to Group III, and 5m³ of round precious and rare wood from Group IIA in production forests. In total, C illegally extracted 23m³. According to current regulations, the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for the illegal extraction of ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII in production forests is 20m³; therefore, Tran Van C's actions fall under the situation of causing serious consequences.

Example 3: Tran Duc P illegally transported 13m³ of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII, 5m³ of round ordinary wood from Group I to Group III, and 3m³ of round precious and rare wood from Group IIA. In total, P illegally transported 21m³. According to current regulations, the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for the illegal transportation of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII is 20m³; therefore, Tran Duc P's actions fall under the situation of causing serious consequences.

c) Illegally extracting precious and rare wood from Group IA in production forests up to 2m³; in protective forests up to 1.5m³; in special-use forests up to 1m³;

d) Illegally extracting endangered, precious, and rare plants from Group IA in production forests with a value up to three million dong; in protective forests up to two million dong; in special-use forests up to one million dong;

e) Illegally transporting or trading precious and rare wood from Group IA up to 2m³.

1.5. "Committing a crime in a very serious case" as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 175 of the Penal Code when any of the following situations occur:

a) Causing damage to forest products (excluding wild animals) from above twice the maximum administrative fine level to four times the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for each violation.

Example: The current maximum administrative fine level prescribed for the illegal extraction of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII in production forests is 20m³. If illegally extracting more than 40m³ up to 80m³ constitutes committing a crime in a very serious case.

b) Illegally extracting, transporting, or trading two or more types of wood (ordinary wood from Group I to Group III with ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII; ordinary wood with precious and rare wood from Group IIA), where the total volume of wood in the violation is from above twice to four times the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII for the corresponding act.

Example: Tran Van G illegally extracted 19m³ of round ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII, 13m³ of round ordinary wood from Group I to Group III, and 9m³ of round precious and rare wood from Group IIA in production forests. In total, G illegally extracted three types of wood totaling 41m³. According to current regulations, the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for ordinary wood from Group IV to Group VIII in production forests is 20m³. Therefore, above twice this maximum level is over 40m³; thus, G commits a crime in a very serious case.

c) Illegally extracting precious and rare wood from Group IA, endangered, precious, and rare plants from Group IA exceeding the maximum level of serious consequences specified in points c and d of sub-item 1.4 of item 1 here to twice the maximum level of serious consequences corresponding to that.

Example 1: Dinh Van T illegally extracted 2.5m³ of precious and rare wood from Group IA in production forests constitutes committing a crime in a very serious case.

Example 2: Trinh Dinh Q illegally extracted endangered, precious, and rare plants from Group IA in protective forests with a value of two million five hundred thousand dong constitutes committing a crime in a very serious case.

d) Illegally transporting or trading precious and rare wood from Group IA exceeding the maximum level of serious consequences specified in point e of sub-item 1.4 of item 4 here to twice the maximum level of serious consequences corresponding to that.

Example: Dao Van K illegally transported or traded 3m³ of precious and rare wood from Group IA constitutes committing a crime in a very serious case.

e) Causing serious consequences as specified in sub-item 1.4 of item 1 here and also committing one of the following acts: resisting public officials; causing injury to public officials; damaging workplaces, equipment, or means of transport of agencies responsible for managing and protecting forests without reaching the level of being criminally prosecuted for an independent offense.

1.6. "Committing a crime in an especially serious case" as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 175 of the Penal Code when any of the following situations occur:

a) Causing damage to forest products (excluding wild animals) above four times the maximum administrative fine level prescribed for each violation.

b) Illegally exploiting, transporting, trading two or more types of wood (ordinary wood groups I - III with ordinary wood groups IV - VIII; ordinary wood with precious and rare wood group IIA) where the total volume of wood involved in the violation exceeds four times the maximum level subject to administrative penalties for ordinary wood belonging to groups IV to VIII prescribed for the corresponding act.

c) Illegally exploiting precious and rare wood group IA, endangered, precious, and rare plants group IA above the maximum level of very serious consequences;

d) Transporting, trading precious and rare wood group IA above the maximum level of very serious consequences;

đ) Committing the crime under particularly serious circumstances as guided in points a, b, c, d and also committing one of the acts specified at point đ sub-item 1.5 section 1 herein.

2. Crime of violating forest management regulations (Article 176 of the Penal Code)

This Circular only guides criminal handling of violations of forest management regulations causing damage to forests and forest products.

2.1. "Illegally transferring or reclaiming forests" refers to the act of transferring or reclaiming forests without proper authority, not in accordance with the objects, inconsistent with planning, and not following the procedures and formalities stipulated by law.

2.2. "Illegally allowing changes in forest land use purposes" refers to the act of allowing changes in forest land use purposes without proper authority, not in accordance with the objects, inconsistent with planning, and not following the procedures and formalities stipulated by law.

2.3. "Illegally allowing exploitation and transportation of forest products" refers to the act of allowing exploitation and transportation of forest products without proper authority, not in accordance with the objects, incorrect volumes, and not following the procedures and formalities stipulated by law.

2.4. "Causing serious consequences" as provided in Clause 1 Article 176 of the Penal Code when it falls within one of the following cases:

a) Illegally transferring or reclaiming forests with areas:

a.1) Production forests from over 20,000m² to 25,000m²;

a.2) Protective forests from over 15,000m² to 20,000m²;

a.3) Special-use forests from over 10,000m² to 15,000m²;

b) Illegally allowing changes in forest land use purposes with areas:

b.1) Production forests from over 10,000m² to 12,500m²;

b.2) Protective forests from over 7,500m² to 10,000m²;

b.3) Special-use forests from over 5,000m² to 7,500m²;

c) Illegally allowing exploitation of forest products causing damage to production forests:

c.1) Roundwood group IA up to 2m³;

c.2) Roundwood group IIA from over 10m³ to 20m³;

c.3) Ordinary roundwood groups I to III from over 15m³ to 30m³;

c.4) Ordinary roundwood groups IV to VIII from over 20m³ up to 40m³;

c.5) Endangered, precious, and rare plants group IA valued up to three million dong.

d) Illegally allowing exploitation of forest products causing damage to protective forests:

d.1) Roundwood group IA up to 1.5m³;

d.2) Roundwood group IIA from over 7.5m³ to 15m³;

d.3) Ordinary roundwood groups I to III from over 10m³ to 20m³;

d.4) Ordinary roundwood groups IV to VIII from over 15m³ to 30m³;

d.5) Endangered, precious, and rare plants group IA valued up to two million dong.

đ) Illegally allowing exploitation of forest products causing damage to special-use forests:

đ.1) Roundwood group IA up to 1m³;

đ.2) Roundwood group IIA from over 5m³ to 10m³;

đ.3) Ordinary roundwood groups I to III from over 7.5m³ to 15m³;

đ.4) Ordinary roundwood groups IV to VIII from over 10m³ to 20m³;

đ.5) Endangered, precious, and rare plants group IA valued up to one million dong.

e) Illegally allowing exploitation of forest products that are endangered, precious, and rare animals group IB with quantities listed in the attached Appendix to this Circular.

g) Illegally allowing transportation of forest products that are wood with volumes:

g.1) Roundwood group IA up to 2m³;

g.2) Roundwood group IIA from over 10m³ to 20m³;

g.3) Ordinary roundwood groups I to III from over 15m³ to 30m³;

g.4) Ordinary roundwood groups IV to VIII from over 20m³ up to 40m³.

h) Illegally allowing transportation of forest products that are endangered, precious, and rare animals group IB with quantities listed in the attached Appendix to this Circular.

2.5. "Causing very serious consequences" as provided in Clause 2 Article 176 of the Penal Code means causing damage exceeding the maximum level of serious consequences as guided in sub-item 2.4 section 2 herein up to twice the maximum level of serious consequences corresponding to that.

For example, Nguyen Manh V, Chairman of the People's Committee of District A, illegally allowed the exploitation of 45m³ roundwood of ordinary wood group V in production forests. Therefore, Nguyen Manh V's criminal act falls under the case of causing very serious consequences.

2.6. "Causing extremely serious consequences" as provided in Clause 3 Article 176 of the Penal Code means causing damage exceeding the maximum level of very serious consequences as guided in sub-item 2.5 section 2 herein.

2.7. In cases of transferring or reclaiming forests, changing forest land use purposes including production forests and protective forests, production forests and special-use forests, or production forests, protective forests, and special-use forests, the total area of these types of forests shall be calculated based on production forests; in cases including protective forests and special-use forests, the total area of these types of forests shall be calculated based on protective forests.

2.8. In cases of illegally allowing transportation of forest products that are wood from two or more types (ordinary wood groups I - III with ordinary wood groups IV - VIII; ordinary wood with precious and rare wood group IIA) where the volume of each type of wood does not reach the level for criminal prosecution, the total volume of the various types of wood shall be compared with the minimum level for wood from groups IV - VIII to consider criminal prosecution; if it is illegal exploitation, it shall be compared with the minimum level for wood from groups IV - VIII being exploited in production forests.

2.9. In cases of illegally allowing exploitation of forest products or illegally allowing transportation of forest products that are endangered, precious, and rare animals group IB from two species or more, the determination of "causing serious consequences," "causing very serious consequences," or "causing extremely serious consequences" in the attached Appendix to this Circular is as follows:

a) If the number of individuals of one species of endangered, precious, and rare animals constitutes "causing extremely serious consequences," then that case is determined as "causing extremely serious consequences." The number of individuals of other species will be considered when deciding the sentence.

b) If the basis for determining the consequences as "causing serious harm" or "causing very serious harm" is based on the number of individuals of each endangered, precious, or rare wild animal species, then the total number of individuals of these species shall be compared with the highest number of individuals of the species listed in the attached annex to this Circular to determine whether the specific case constitutes "causing serious harm," "causing very serious harm," or "causing particularly serious harm."

3. The crime of destroying forests (Article 189 of the Penal Code)

3.1. "Illegally burning forests" refers to the intentional act of setting fire to forests for any purpose without permission from the competent state authorities or individuals.

3.2. "Illegally destroying forests" refers to cutting down, thinning trees, and other unlawful acts that cause forest trees to die for any purpose, except for the cases specified in sub-item 1.1 and sub-item 1.2 of item 1 of Part IV hereof.

3.3. "Other acts of destroying forests" refer to unlawful acts such as digging, blasting, leveling, excavating, damming tidal water, draining water, or discharging toxic substances into forests, causing large-scale deaths of forest trees and pollution of forest land.

In the case where illegally burning, destroying forests, or committing other acts of destroying forests planted, protected forests for regeneration, which have been assigned by the competent state authorities to organizations, collectives, households, or individuals for long-term stable use for forestry purposes, and the assignees have invested capital in planting, caring for, and protecting the forests, the following measures will be taken:

a) If the forest owner illegally burns, destroys forests, or commits other acts of destroying forests, they will be criminally prosecuted under Article 189 of the Penal Code;

b) If the person who illegally burns, destroys forests, or commits other acts of destroying forests is not the forest owner, they will be criminally prosecuted under the corresponding articles stipulated in Chapter XIV "Crimes against Property" of the Penal Code.

3.4. "Causing serious harm" as provided in Clause 1 of Article 189 of the Penal Code when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Illegally burning, destroying forests, or committing other acts of destroying production forests with an area from the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties to twice the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties.

Example: According to current regulations, the maximum level of administrative violation penalties for illegally destroying production forests is 10,000 square meters.²Mr. Nguyen Van V illegally destroyed production forests with an area of 15,000 square meters.²Mr. V's criminal act falls under the category of causing serious harm.

b) Causing damage to forest products valued from over thirty million dong to sixty million dong for natural production forests; from over fifty million dong to one hundred million dong for planted production forests or protected forests for regeneration, in cases where the damage to the forest cannot be calculated by the area burned, destroyed, or otherwise destroyed but is scattered across the same or multiple compartments.

In cases where the destruction of forests also causes harm to human life, health, state property, collective property, or individual property to the extent that criminal responsibility must be pursued, both the crime of destroying forests and the corresponding crimes stipulated in the Penal Code will be prosecuted.

3.5. Regarding some aggravating circumstances for sentencing as provided in Clause 2 of Article 189 of the Penal Code

a) "Destroying a very large area of forest" refers to the destruction of production forests with an area from more than twice the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties to four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties.

Example: According to current regulations, the maximum level of administrative violation penalties for illegally destroying production forests is 10,000 square meters.²Mr. Tran Dinh S illegally destroyed production forests with an area of 30,000 square meters.²Mr. S's criminal act falls under the category of destroying a very large area of forest.

b) "Cutting down and destroying rare plants listed by the Government" refers to cutting down and destroying rare plants in groups IA and IIA of the list of endangered, precious, or rare wild plants.

In cases where rare plants in groups IA and IIA are cut down and destroyed without being able to calculate the damage by area as guided at point a of sub-item 3.4 of item 3 (due to cutting down individual trees at different locations within the same or multiple compartments), but the value of the rare plants cut down and destroyed is from over thirty million dong to sixty million dong for group IA or from over fifty million dong to one hundred million dong for group IIA, they will also be criminally prosecuted under point d of Clause 2 of Article 189 of the Penal Code.

c) "Causing very serious harm" means causing serious harm as guided at sub-item 3.4 of item 3 and also committing one of the following acts: resisting public officials; injuring public officials; damaging workplaces, equipment, or means of transportation of agencies responsible for managing and protecting forests, but not to the extent of being criminally prosecuted for independent offenses.

3.6. Regarding some aggravating circumstances for sentencing as provided in Clause 3 of Article 189 of the Penal Code

a) "Destroying a particularly large area of forest" refers to the destruction of production forests with an area from more than four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties.

b) "Destroying protective forests and special-use forests" refers to the destruction of these types of forests with an area exceeding the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties.

c) "Causing particularly serious harm" when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

c.1) The value of rare plants cut down and destroyed is from over sixty million dong for group IA or from over one hundred million dong for group IIA, if it does not fall under the circumstances guided at points a and b of sub-item 3.6 of item 3;

c.2) Causing damage as provided at point a or point b of sub-item 3.5 of item 3 and also committing one of the following acts: resisting public officials; injuring public officials; damaging workplaces, equipment, or means of transportation of agencies responsible for managing and protecting forests, but not to the extent of being criminally prosecuted for independent offenses.

4. The crime of violating regulations on the protection of rare wildlife (Article 190 of the Penal Code)

4.1. "Illegally hunting, killing, transporting, or trading rare wildlife prohibited by the Government" refers to the act of hunting, killing, transporting, or trading rare wild animals in group IB without permission from the competent state authorities or obtaining permission but failing to comply with the provisions of the issued permit.

4.2. "Transporting and trading illegally products of that type of animal" refers to transporting and trading various types of products such as meat, bones, horns, skin, hair, tusks, nails, scales, teeth, and other parts from the bodies of rare and precious wild animal species in Group IB without lawful documentation. If these products have been processed or crafted into goods or raw materials for production..., they shall be handled according to the provisions of the law regarding prohibited items.

4.3. The act of hunting, killing, transporting, and trading illegally rare and precious wild animals prohibited by the Government's regulations shall be criminally prosecuted under Clause 1, Article 190 of the Penal Code when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Hunting, killing, transporting, and trading rare and precious wild animals in Group IB with a number of individuals below the minimum threshold causing "very serious consequences" as listed in the attached Circular;

b) Transporting and trading products of wild animals belonging to rare and precious species in Group IB with a value up to fifty million dong.

4.4. Regarding certain aggravating circumstances for determining the sentencing framework prescribed in Clause 2, Article 190 of the Penal Code

a) "Using banned hunting tools or means" refers to using military weapons (including those modified), poisoned crossbows, poison, digging pits or holes, setting large traps, spike traps, spring traps, using large logs or large iron spikes, using flashlights, setting traps, and other dangerous tools or means that authorities have prohibited from being used for hunting in that area or for that particular endangered or precious wild animal species.

b) Hunting in a prohibited area means hunting in nature reserves, national parks, or in forest areas where hunting is otherwise prohibited according to the regulations of competent state agencies.

c) Hunting during a prohibited period means hunting endangered or precious wild animals during their breeding season or migration period.

d) "Causing very serious consequences" refers to situations where:

d.1) Hunting, killing, transporting, and trading endangered or precious wild animals in Group IB with a number of individuals as listed in the attached Circular;

d.2) Transporting and trading products of wild animals belonging to endangered or precious species in Group IB with a value from over fifty million dong to one hundred million dong;

d.3) Hunting, killing, transporting, and trading endangered or precious wild animals in Group IB with a number of individuals below the threshold causing "very serious consequences" as listed in the attached Circular and also transporting and trading illegally products of wild animals belonging to endangered or precious species in Group IB with a value up to fifty million dong.

đ) "Causing particularly serious consequences" refers to situations where:

đ.1) Illegally hunting, killing, transporting, and trading endangered or precious wild animals in Group IB with a number of individuals as listed in the attached Circular;

đ.2) Illegally transporting and trading products of wild animals belonging to endangered or precious species in Group IB with a value from over one hundred million dong;

đ.3) Illegally hunting, killing, transporting, and trading endangered or precious wild animals in Group IB with a number of individuals at the level causing "very serious consequences" as listed in the attached Circular and also illegally transporting and trading products of wild animals belonging to endangered or precious species in Group IB with a value from over fifty million dong to one hundred million dong.

4.5. In cases of illegally hunting, killing, transporting, and trading endangered or precious wild animals in Group IB from two or more species, the determination of "causing very serious consequences," "causing particularly serious consequences" as listed in the attached Circular shall be as follows:

a) If the basis for the number of individuals of one species of endangered or precious wild animal is "causing particularly serious consequences," then that case shall be determined as "causing particularly serious consequences." The number of individuals of other species will be considered when deciding the sentence.

b) If the basis for the number of individuals of each species of endangered or precious wild animal is only "causing very serious consequences" or "below the level causing serious consequences," then the total number of individuals of all species will be compared with the species having the highest number of individuals as listed in the attached Circular to determine whether the specific case falls under Clause 1, Article 190 of the Penal Code or is "causing very serious consequences" or "causing particularly serious consequences."

5. Crime of violating fire prevention and firefighting regulations (Article 240 of the Penal Code)

5.1. This Circular only guides criminal handling of violations of fire prevention and firefighting regulations leading to forest fires causing damage to forests, health, lives, and property of others.

5.2. Violations of fire prevention and firefighting regulations causing forest fires include:

a) In concentrated forest areas where the forest owner does not have fire prevention and firefighting plans and facilities;

b) Lighting fires or using fire in strictly protected zones of special-use forests, highly vulnerable protective zones;

c) Lighting fires or using fire in easily flammable forest areas with dry vegetation during the dry season;

d) Lighting fires or using fire near wood storage areas when there is a forest fire warning forecast from level III to level V;

đ) Lighting fires or using fire for hunting wild animals, felling trees, and burning to obtain charcoal, honey, and war debris in the forest;

e) Illegally burning fields, swiddens, and paddy fields within the forest or adjacent to the forest;

g) Failing to ensure fire safety and firefighting when using sources of fire, heat, equipment, devices, and storing and using combustible materials in the forest and its vicinity;

h) Other acts directly causing a risk of forest fire.

5.3. Violations of fire prevention and firefighting regulations causing forest fires shall be criminally prosecuted under Clause 1, Article 240 of the Penal Code when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Causing damage to one type of forest with the damaged area exceeding the maximum fine for administrative violation to twice the maximum fine for administrative violation.

b) Causing damage to two or more types of forests (production forest, protective forest, special-use forest) where the area damaged in each type of forest does not exceed the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties, but the total area of all types of forests damaged exceeds the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties up to twice the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties for production forests;

Example: Hoang Ngoc B set fire in the forest, resulting in a fire in the production forest with an area of 6,000 square meters,², a fire in the protective forest with an area of 3,000 square meters,², and a fire in the special-use forest with an area of 2,000 square meters.²The total area of the three types of forests burned is 11,000 square meters.²According to current regulations, the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties for production forests is 10,000 square meters;²therefore, B must be held criminally responsible under Clause 1, Article 240 of the Penal Code.

c) Causing the death of one person;

d) Causing harm to the health of one to two people with an injury rate of each person from 31% or higher;

đ) Causing harm to the health of multiple people with an injury rate of each person below 31%, but the total injury rate of all these people from 41% to 100%;

e) Causing harm to the health of one person with an injury rate from 21% to 30% and also causing property damage valued from thirty million dong to less than fifty million dong;

g) Causing harm to the health of multiple people with an injury rate of each person below 21%, but the total injury rate of all these people from 30% to 40% and also causing property damage valued from thirty million dong to less than fifty million dong;

h) Causing property damage valued from fifty million dong to less than five hundred million dong.

5.4. "Committing a crime causing very serious consequences" as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 240 of the Penal Code when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Causing damage to one type of forest where the damaged area is from more than twice the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties to four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties;

b) Causing damage to two or more types of forests (production forest, protective forest, special-use forest regardless of whether the area damaged in each type of forest has reached the level subject to criminal responsibility or not) where the total area of all types of forests damaged is from more than twice the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties to four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties for production forests;

Example 1: Tran Van M set fire in the forest, resulting in a fire in the production forest with an area of 9,500 square meters,², a fire in the protective forest with an area of 7,000 square meters,², and a fire in the special-use forest with an area of 4,000 square meters.²The total area of the three types of forests burned is 20,500 square meters;²According to current regulations, the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties for production forests is 10,000 square meters;²therefore, M's criminal act falls under the circumstance of causing very serious consequences.

c) Causing damage to forests falling under one of the circumstances guided by points a and b of sub-item 5.3 item 5 and also having one of the circumstances guided by points c, d, đ, e, g, and h of sub-item 5.3 item 5;

d) Causing the death of two people;

đ) Causing the death of one person and also causing consequences falling under one of the circumstances guided by points d, đ, e, g, and h of sub-item 5.3 item 5;

e) Causing harm to the health of three to four people with an injury rate of each person from 31% or higher;

g) Causing harm to the health of multiple people with a total injury rate of all these people from 101% to 200%;

h) Causing harm to the health of one to two people with an injury rate of each person from 31% or higher and also causing consequences falling under one of the circumstances guided by points đ, e, g, and h of sub-item 5.3 item 5;

i) Causing property damage valued from five hundred million dong to less than one billion five hundred million dong.

5.5. "Committing a crime causing particularly serious consequences" as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 240 of the Penal Code when it falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Causing damage to one type of forest over four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties;

b) Causing damage to two or more types of forests (production forest, protective forest, special-use forest regardless of whether the area damaged in each type of forest has reached the level subject to criminal responsibility or not) where the total area of all types of forests damaged is over four times the maximum level subject to administrative violation penalties for production forests;

c) Causing damage to forests falling under one of the circumstances guided by points a and b of sub-item 5.4 item 5 and also having one of the circumstances guided by points d, đ, e, g, h, and i of sub-item 5.4 item 5;

d) Causing the death of three people or more;

đ) Causing the death of two people and also causing consequences falling under one of the circumstances guided by points d, đ, e, g, and h of sub-item 5.3 item 5;

e) Causing the death of one person and also causing consequences falling under one of the circumstances guided by points e, g, h, and i of sub-item 5.4 item 5;

g) Causing harm to the health of five people or more with an injury rate of each person from 31% or higher;

h) Causing harm to the health of multiple people with a total injury rate of these people over 200%;

i) Causing harm to the health of three or four people with an injury rate of each person from 31% or higher and also causing property damage guided by point i of sub-item 5.4 item 5;

k) Causing property damage valued from one billion five hundred million dong or more.

V. EFFECTIVE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. For cases where the offender has been sentenced correctly according to previous guiding documents and the judgment has become legally binding, this Circular shall not be the basis for lodging appeals through the cassation or retrial procedures, except in cases where there are other grounds for appeal; if according to this Circular they are not subject to criminal liability, the matter shall be resolved through the procedure for exemption from execution of punishment.

3. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties or issues not covered by guidance, requiring further explanation or supplementary guidance, please report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the Supreme People's Court for further explanation or supplementary guidance./.