Chapter XIV
INSPECTION AND DEALING WITH BREACHES, SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AMD DENUNCIATIONS AND COMPENSATION FOR ENVRIONMENTAL DAMAGES
SECTION 1. INSPECTION AND DEALING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL BREACHES, SETTLEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLAINTS AND DENUNCIATIONS
Article 125: Inspection of Environmental Protection
1. Inspection of environmental protection is a specialized inspection in environmental protection.
Environmental inspectors shall be provided with their own uniform, badge, necessary equipment and facilities to perform their tasks.
2. The competence and duties of environmental protection inspectors shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of the law on inspection.
3. The Government shall regulate the organizational structure and operation of environmental protection inspection.
Article 126: Responsibilities for Performing Examination and Inspection of Environmental Protection
1. Responsibilities for performing the examination and inspection of environmental protection shall be specified as follows:
(a) Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and Chairpersons of provincial level People’s Committees shall have the responsibility to examine and make decisions on the inspection of environmental protection in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the other provisions of the relevant law on inspection;
(b) The environmental protection inspectorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment shall examine and inspect the performance of environmental protection by the production, business and service units that fall under the competence of the review and approval of environmental impact assessment reports by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, ministries, ministerial level agencies and Government bodies; collaborate with specialized environmental protection inspectorates of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security in the examination and inspection of environmental protection performed by their subordinate units;
(c) Provincial level environmental protection inspectorates shall examine and inspect environmental protection performed by local economic organizations and self- accounting enterprises, and by projects that fall under the competence of the review and approval of environmental impact assessment reports by provincial level People’s Committees, and other projects that fall under the competence of the examination and inspection of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment in case there exist signs of violation against the law on environmental protection;
(d) District level People’s Committees shall examine and inspect environmental protection performed by administrative agencies, self-accounting enterprises, except those that fall under item (c) of this Paragraph, and small sized production, business and service establishments;
(f) Communal level People’s Committees shall examine environmental protection performed by households and individuals.
In necessary case, environmental protection inspectorates at all levels and district level People’s Committees shall, in collaboration with communal level People’s Committees, have the responsibility to assist in examining and inspecting environmental protection performed by organizations and individuals that commit seriously violations against the law on environmental protection.
2. The State management agencies at all levels and concerned specialized agencies shall, on request, have the responsibility to assist and collaborate with environmental protection inspectorates during the process of examination and inspection of environmental protection.
3. The examination and inspection of environmental protection shall be performed to the maximum of two times a year for the production, business and service establishments except those who are denounced to infringe or there are signs of their breaches of, the law on environmental protection.
Article 127: Dealing with Breaches
1. Those who commit violations against the law on environmental protection shall, depending on the nature and extent of the infringement, be dealt with administratively, or be criminally prosecuted; and must remedy pollution, rehabilitate the environment and compensate for damages if committed acts of causing environmental pollution, degradation, incidents and damages to other organizations and individuals, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the other provisions of the relevant law.
2. Heads of organizations, officers and public servants who take advantage of their positions and powers to trouble and harass organizations and citizens, to protect persons infringing the environmental protection law, whose lack of responsibility allows seriously environmental pollution and incidents occur, shall, depending on the nature and extent of the infringement, be disciplined or be criminally prosecuted; and must compensate for the damages if committed to cause, in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Article 128: Environmental Complaints, Denunciations and Lawsuits
1. Organizations and individuals shall have the rights to make complaints to the competent State agencies about, or initiate lawsuits at the Court against acts of infringing the law on environmental protection and intruding their rights and legitimate interests.
2. Citizens shall have the rights to denounce to the competent agencies and the competent officials about acts in breach of environmental protection law as follows:
(a) Causing environmental pollution, degradation and incidents;
(b) Infringing the rights and interests of the State, residential communities, organizations, families and individuals;
3. The State agencies and competent officials receiving complaints and denunciations shall have the responsibility for their examination and settlement according to the provisions of the law relating to complaint and denunciation, and the provisions of this Law.
Article 129: Environmental Disputes
1. Contents of environmental disputes include:
(a) Dispute concerning the rights and responsibilities for environmental protection relating to the exploitation and use of environmental components;
(b) Dispute concerning the determination of causes leading to environmental pollution, degradation and incidents, and of responsibilities for the treatment and remedy of consequences, and compensation for damages caused by environmental pollution, degradation and incidents.
2. Parties to environmental disputes include:
(a) Disputing organizations and individuals using environmental components;
(b) Organizations and individuals exploiting and using environmental components and those organizations and individuals who are responsible for the remedy and rehabilitation of polluted and degraded areas and compensations for environmental damages;
3. The settlement of environmental disputes shall be implemented according to the provisions of the law on the settlement of civil disputes outside contract and the other provisions of the relevant law.
4. Environmental disputes that arise in the territory of Viet Nam to which one or more parties concerned are foreign organizations or individuals, shall be settled in accordance with the law of Viet Nam; unless stipulated otherwise by the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a Contracting Party.
SECTION 2. COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND DEGRADATION
Article 130: Damages Caused by Environmental Pollution and Degradation
Damages cause by environmental pollution and degradation include:
1. Degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment;
2. Damages to human health and life, properties and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals due to degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment.
Article 131: Determination of Damages Caused by Environmental Pollution and Degradation
1. Degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment includes the following categories:
(a) Being degraded;
(b) Seriously degraded;
(c) Extremely seriously degraded.
2. The determination of the extent and limits of the environment that is degraded in terms of its function and usefulness includes:
(a) Determination of limits and areas of regions and their core zones being seriously and extremely seriously degraded;
(b) Determination of limits and areas of buffer zones being directly degraded;
(c) Determination of limits and areas of other regions being affected from core and buffer zones.
3. The determination of environmental components being degraded, including:
(a) Determination of the quantity of degraded environmental components and types of damaged ecosystems and species;
(b) Levels of damage of each specific environmental components, ecosystems and species;
4. The calculation of costs of environmental damages shall be specified as follows:
(a) Calculation of costs incurred in short and long term damages induced by degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment;
(b) Calculation of costs incurred in environmental remedy, improvement and rehabilitation;
(c) Calculation of costs incurred in the mitigation or elimination of sources that cause damages;
(d) Exploring comments from other concerned parties;
(e) Taking one of the measures defined in Items (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this Paragraph to calculate costs incurred in environmental damages depending on specific conditions, to serve as basis for determining levels of compensation and settlement of compensation for environmental damages.
5. The determination of damages induced from degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment shall be performed independently or in collaboration with parties that cause damages and affected parties.
At the request of one or all parties concerned, specialized agencies of environmental protection shall have the responsibility to participate, and provide guidance in the calculation and determination of damages or to witness the determination of damages.
6. The determination of damages in terms of human health and life, properties and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals caused by environmental pollution and degradation shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of the law.
7. The Government shall guide the determination of damages caused by environmental pollution and degradation.
Article 132: Valuation of Damages Caused by Degradation in the Function and Usefulness of the Environment
1. The valuation of damaged caused by degradation in the function and usefulness of the environment shall be performed on the request of affected organizations and individuals or by agencies that are engaged in the settlement of compensation for environmental damages.
2. Grounds for the valuation of damages shall consist of compensation dossiers, data and information, evidence and others relating to the compensation for damages and parties that cause the damages.
3. The selection of agencies in charge of damage valuation must seek consensus between compensation claiming parties and affected parties; if the parties concerned cannot reach agreement on the selection of agencies in charge of damage valuation, which shall be decided by agencies assigned to deal with the compensation for damages.
Article 133: Settlement of Compensation for Environmental Damages
The settlement of compensation for environmental damages shall be specified as follows:
1. Agreement by parties concerned;
2. Request for arbitration;
3. Initiation of lawsuits at the Court.
Article 134: Insurance for Liability for Compensation for Environmental Damages
1. The State shall encourage insurance enterprises in the implementation of insurance of the liability for compensation for environmental damages.
2. The State shall encourage organizations and individuals engaged in production, business, service and other activities to insure their liability for compensation for environmental damages.
3. Organizations and individuals engaged in activities that are likely to impose potential risks of significant environmental damages must insure their liability for compensation
for environmental damages.
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Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2005 (Bản Word)