VietNamNet Bridge – Competent agencies are considering initiating criminal proceedings against Vedan, but there exist legal problems, according to Ha Hung Cuong, Minister of Justice, who had a talk with press agencies on the sideline of the ongoing National Assembly session.

The polluted river

We still need to consider if it is necessary to close Vedan. In the immediate time, the two decisions by MNRE are enough. The first decision is to impose an administrative fine on Vedan, and the second is to stop waste from being released into the river.

The decision by the Minister of MNRE to stop Vedan’s release of waste into the river is enough, because the violations of the company are related to water and releasing waste into the river. Meanwhile, there is no need to stop other activities like the operation of the cassava plantation.

Of course, the settlement will still depend on the behaviour of the enterprise. If Vedan does not strictly obey the decision, we will be able to apply other kinds of punishment, including closing it down or revoking its investment licences.

The Dong Nai provincial People’s Committee thinks that the jurisdiction of dealing with the case belongs to MNRE, while MNRE thinks that the local authorities are responsible for resolving the problems in the locality.

Though Vedan is located in Dong Nai province, MNRE was the body that discovered the violations; therefore, MNRE has the power to deal with the case, and it has been fulfilling its responsibility.

The Dong Nai People’s Committee has a point when it says that it does not have sufficient authority to release a decision to shut down a joint venture in the locality. It is able to release such a decision only if it gets authorisation from the Prime Minister.

This is a Taiwanese-invested company, and Vietnam and Taiwan have signed an investment protection agreement.

With the same wrongdoings, the violators would surely face legal proceedings in other countries. Why can’t we do that in Vietnam?

In fact, competent agencies have been considering initiating criminal proceedings, but we still have legal problems.

Violators are considered criminals only if they do not repair the damage after competent agencies release administrative punishment one year prior.

Le Nhung