Circular No. 55/2009/TT-BCA on the implementation of democracy in the work of Environmental Police

CIRCULAR
Regulations on the implementation of democracy in the work of Environmental Police
 

Based on Decree No. 71/1998/NĐ-CP dated September 8, 1998 of the Government promulgating the Rules on Implementing Democracy in the Activities of Agencies;

Based on Decree No. 136/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security,

The Ministry of Public Security hereby regulates the implementation of democracy in the work of Environmental Police as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

This Circular stipulates the purpose, principles, and contents of implementing democracy in the work of Environmental Police in combating criminal activities and other violations of laws related to environmental protection, and shall be applied to public security units and localities; officers and soldiers of the People's Public Security; and other agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals with rights and obligations related to the activities of Environmental Police.

Article 2. Purpose of Implementing Democracy in the Work of Environmental Police

Implementing democracy in the work of Environmental Police aims to promote the people's right to self-management and the rights of agencies, organizations, and enterprises in the work of combating criminal activities and other violations of laws related to environmental protection, mobilizing the comprehensive strength of the people to participate in environmental protection; contributing to building a clean, strong, effective Environmental Police force that operates without arbitrary practices, corruption, causing inconvenience to the people, and infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 3. Principles of Implementing Democracy in the Work of Environmental Police

1. Implementing democracy in the work of combating criminal activities and other violations of laws related to environmental protection must be within the framework of the Constitution, laws, and regulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

2. Strictly prohibit the abuse of democracy to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals; obstructing the activities of Environmental Police.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Matters That Environmental Police Must Announce Publicly

1. The office and workplace of Environmental Police; the direct phone number of the unit and the person authorized to handle complaints, reports from organizations and individuals regarding violations of environmental protection laws.

2. Policies, laws on environmental protection within the tasks of Environmental Police relevant to agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals operating in Vietnam.

3. When performing their duties, officers and soldiers of Environmental Police must inform the subject of work about their functions, tasks, and powers so they can comply (except for matters within the scope of state secrets or operational secrets).

4. Units of Environmental Police must have an open suggestion box placed in a convenient location to receive suggestions for improving the unit or complaints and reports of violations of environmental protection laws.

5. Violations of environmental protection laws and their consequences (if any) collected by Environmental Police during the performance of their functions and tasks.

Article 5. Responsibilities of Environmental Police

1. Environmental Police are responsible for coordinating with competent authorities to inspect compliance with environmental protection laws by agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals operating in Vietnam according to their functions and tasks; requesting agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals to explain issues related to suspected violations of environmental protection laws, providing information and documents to clarify such violations.

2. Environmental Police are responsible for using forces, means, and investigative methods prescribed by law and the Ministry of Public Security to combat criminal activities in the field of environmental protection; identifying causes and conditions for crimes and other violations of environmental protection laws; proposing plans and measures to prevent and address these issues to relevant agencies, organizations, and enterprises.

3. Officers and soldiers of Environmental Police when performing tasks at agencies, organizations, and enterprises must comply with the provisions of law and the Ministry of Public Security and are accountable to the head of the unit for the work they have carried out.

4. Officers and soldiers of Environmental Police when working with agencies, organizations, and individuals must prepare work plans and thoroughly prepare the content of the work; anticipate unexpected situations and solutions for those situations. The content and work plan must be approved by the unit leadership.

5. When interacting and working with agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals, officers and soldiers of the People's Public Security must maintain proper etiquette and conduct, have a sense of responsibility, integrity, honesty, objectivity, listen to opinions and suggestions from agencies, organizations, and individuals. They must keep operational secrets; after completing the interaction or work session, they must report the results to the competent authority for decision-making.

Article 6. Matters that Environmental Police officers shall not engage in

1. Shall not disclose secrets, information, documents, or cases under investigation or verification before being officially permitted to be made public to persons without responsibility in any form. In case of receiving requests from mass media agencies and other related agencies for information or documents regarding the content of cases assigned to them for investigation or verification, they must report and obtain approval from the competent authority.

2. Shall not abuse their official capacity to visit agencies, organizations, enterprises, or meet individuals privately to harass, collude, act in a negative manner, or accept gifts in any form.

3. Shall not arbitrarily contact suspects under investigation or persons related to ongoing investigations. In case suspects seek meetings on their own initiative, they must immediately inform the unit leadership to handle appropriately. They may only investigate and verify information, reports, letters of criminal accusations, and other violations concerning environmental protection from agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals when assigned by leadership.

4. Shall not abuse their assigned duties and powers to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals.

Article 7. Rights and Responsibilities of Agencies, Organizations, Enterprises, and Individuals

1. To be informed about policies, laws of the State on environmental protection; incidents of law violations occurring within their agencies, organizations, or enterprises that have been concluded by authorized agencies.

2. To participate in providing opinions with the leadership of the Public Security Organs generally and the Heads of Environmental Police Units specifically regarding the activities of Environmental Police officers, identifying harassment, negative actions, and causing inconvenience to production and business operations by Environmental Police officers.

3. To discover and provide information and documents about crimes and other violations of environmental protection laws to Environmental Police or the nearest Public Security Organ. Sources of information and those who provide information are guaranteed confidentiality according to the law.

4. To fully and accurately report and explain information and documents related to violations of environmental protection laws as required by Environmental Police and bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported content.

5. To strictly comply with laws on environmental protection, cooperate and assist Environmental Police in performing their duties.

Article 8. Work on Receiving and Handling Letters of Opinion, Complaints, and Accusations

1. Environmental Police agencies must arrange convenient locations for receiving citizens and assign officers to duty 24/7 to receive reports, letters of accusation regarding crimes; at these locations, there must be suggestion boxes to receive letters of opinion for organizational development or complaints and accusations from agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals. Officers must be assigned to follow up on handling and responding to the senders of letters.

2. All reports, letters of accusation regarding crimes; letters of opinion; complaints, and accusations must be recorded in registers as prescribed and immediately transferred to the competent leadership for directing responsible departments to handle according to the law.

3. For letters unrelated to Environmental Police work or outside the jurisdiction of Environmental Police agencies, they must be returned and clearly explained to the sender or immediately transferred to the competent agency for resolution; simultaneously, a written notification must be provided to the sender of the letter.

4. Environmental Police officers shall not receive letters or handle citizen affairs at their private residences or any place outside the agency's premises, except in urgent cases where citizens come to report crimes or accuse violations of environmental protection.

5. Duty officers at Environmental Police agencies must wear uniforms according to the regulations of the People's Public Security; they must respect, be courteous, and properly address the legitimate demands of citizens; they must not evade or shirk responsibilities, nor harass citizens.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from November 16, 2009.

Article 10. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Directors of General Departments, Heads of units directly under the Ministry, Directors of Public Security Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities, and Directors of Fire Prevention and Control Departments of Ho Chi Minh City are responsible for disseminating and implementing this Circular to all Public Security officers and organizing its implementation. This Circular is published for all citizens and agencies, organizations, and enterprises to know and implement.

2. The General Department of Police and the Legal Affairs Department are responsible for guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Circular.

3. Annually, the Environmental Police Department and Public Security Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities must review the implementation of this Circular and report the results in writing to the Ministry (through the General Department of Police and the Legal Affairs Department) for consolidation and reporting to the Ministry's leadership.

4. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are difficulties, Public Security units, localities, organizations, and individuals concerned must promptly reflect to the Ministry of Public Security (through the General Department of Police and the Legal Affairs Department) for guidance and resolution./.