Evaluation of Legal Regulations on Handling Administrative Violations in the Field of Fire Prevention and Fighting

The decision has been made more than 07 days from the date of making the administrative violation record; cases where the time limit has been more than 30 days from the date of making the administrative violation record for many records with many complicated circumstances without requesting an extension or requesting an extension but not being allowed by the competent authority to extend; or the time limit for extension by the competent authority has expired; cases of administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting in urgent situations; due to legitimate defense; due to unexpected events; due to force majeure events and in cases specified in Article 65 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations 2012.

After completing all the procedures and steps in the above order, the person with the authority to handle administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting shall issue a decision to handle administrative violations.

This is a very important activity in the work of handling administrative violations, because all the above steps and procedures are only aimed at the final purpose of issuing a decision to handle administrative violations. This decision must ensure the content according to the provisions of the law. The issuance of a decision to handle administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting must comply with the provisions of Articles 67 and 68 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations 2012 and according to the form prescribed in Decree No. 81/2013/ND-CP dated July 19, 2013 of the Government detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

In addition to the above-mentioned sanctioning procedures, the 2012 Law on Handling of Administrative Violations also stipulates quite specifically other procedures to ensure the handling of administrative violations such as body search procedures, fine collection and payment procedures, etc. These regulations are a solid legal basis for the handling of administrative violations in general and the handling of administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting in particular. Therefore, the requirement for those with the authority to handle sanctions is to have a firm grasp of the sanctioning procedures according to the provisions of law in the performance of official duties.

2.1.2. Evaluation of legal provisions on handling administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting

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In fact, the implementation of legal regulations on handling administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting has had certain effects in the fight against, prevention and control of administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting; thereby, contributing to deterrence, prevention and limitation of administrative violations in fire prevention and fighting.

However, in theory and practice, the current law on handling administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting still has some limitations that need to be overcome, such as:

- Clause 1, Article 47 of Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP on violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting in households stipulates: "A fine of 300,000 VND to 500,000 VND shall be imposed for unintentional violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations, resulting in fires and explosions that have not caused damage or caused damage of less than 25,000,000 VND". In reality, the handling of acts that cause fires and explosions that have not caused damage or caused damage of less than 25,000,000 VND still has many shortcomings and obstacles. This level of damage often occurs in fires in households and small businesses, due to the characteristics of these subjects, which are mostly households. When a fire occurs, it often causes problems related to people's lives and emotions. Therefore, it is very difficult to handle the behavior of these subjects causing fires, almost impossible to do. In addition, there are cases of fires and explosions that cannot be punished for administrative violations, especially those that occur in mountainous areas, economically disadvantaged areas or households where the fire has burned down all their property. According to a fire prevention and fighting police officer with many years of experience in the industry: "How can we punish them when they have nothing left, their houses and properties have turned to ashes, and in many cases, they have even lost their lives?"

Even unintentional violators were burned. If they did not have enough food and clothing, where would they get the money to pay the fine? Sometimes, the fire prevention team had to support them with rice and clothes. The deterrent effect of the Decree is clear, but its implementation is a difficult problem because human love in times of trouble will make it very difficult for the authorities to "take action" to punish [23].

- Decree No. 130/2006/ND-CP dated November 8, 2006 of the Government stipulates the compulsory fire and explosion insurance regime, clearly defining the responsibilities and powers of organizations and individuals in implementing the compulsory fire and explosion insurance regime; stipulating the fees and charges that organizations buying and selling fire and explosion insurance must comply with. In reality, many organizations and individuals have shown signs of taking advantage of loopholes in the implementation of this Decree to avoid buying and selling compulsory fire and explosion insurance, causing losses to the budget. However, Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP only stipulates a single article (Article 46) to regulate administrative violations of compulsory fire and explosion insurance, which may not be effective enough to prevent violations.

- Point a Clause 2 Article 46 Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP on violations of regulations on compulsory fire and explosion insurance stipulates: "Establishing establishments that are required to purchase compulsory fire and explosion insurance but do not purchase it as prescribed". According to statistics from the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department, administrative sanctions for violations of compulsory fire and explosion insurance as prescribed in Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP face certain difficulties. Each year, there are only a few cases of administrative sanctions for acts of not purchasing compulsory fire and explosion insurance as prescribed, while acts of not selling compulsory fire and explosion insurance and acts of enterprises conducting compulsory fire and explosion insurance business not having measures to prevent and limit losses for subjects participating in compulsory fire and explosion insurance as prescribed cannot be implemented.

- When regulating the authority to impose fines for each entity, the law stipulates the maximum level that each entity is entitled to apply. This maximum level is determined based on the maximum level of the fine bracket prescribed for each specific act. According to the regulations, the specific fine level for an administrative violation is the average level of the fine bracket prescribed for that act; if there are mitigating circumstances, the fine level may be reduced but must not be reduced below the minimum level of the fine bracket; if there are aggravating circumstances, the fine level may be increased but must not exceed the maximum level of the fine bracket. Thus, if an administrative violation has no aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the fine level is naturally determined as the average level of the bracket and the maximum level of the bracket is only applied when the act has many aggravating circumstances. In reality, the number of administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting without aggravating or mitigating circumstances is greater than that of those with aggravating or mitigating circumstances. That is, the person with the authority to sanction administrative violations often sanctions administrative violations with basic circumstances, but the authority to sanction is based on the level of penalty for acts with aggravating circumstances. This regulation has significantly limited the authority of the subjects with the authority to sanction administrative violations. Specifically, when handling administrative violations according to Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP, the inspection and detection of administrative violations are mainly detected and handled by officers and soldiers of the People's Public Security during the performance of their duties. Although they are assigned the authority to handle, many administrative violations exceed the authority of the handling officers. In reality, many officers with high ranks such as majors and lieutenant colonels when handling violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting are not directly handled but must propose to their superiors to make a decision to handle. For example, some administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting that frequently occur, such as the act of not maintaining

Regular operation of the emergency lighting system; acts of not having adequate rescue equipment and tools as prescribed; acts of not having emergency lighting equipment on the escape route or having it but it is not bright enough as prescribed or not working; acts of locking, blocking, or blocking the escape door;... These acts, according to regulations, have a fine range from 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND. However, according to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 66 of Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP, fire safety inspectors do not have the right to impose fines on these acts because the maximum level of the fine range is

5,000,000 VND has exceeded the authority of the fire safety inspector. The above regulation has led to a situation where many cases have to wait for the superior to handle even though the nature of the administrative violation does not require a decision from a higher authority. This situation has caused congestion in handling administrative violations of fire safety, many administrative violations are not handled promptly and more importantly, the handling of administrative violations is often pushed to the superior, causing overload, while the subordinates mostly only perform the function of making records without the authority to handle, leading to many cases where administrative violations cannot be handled due to the expiration of the statute of limitations or the time limit prescribed by law. The untimely handling of the violations has also caused some dissatisfaction among some people because the evidence and means have been detained for longer than necessary without being resolved, wasting time and effort for both the violators and the person handling the violation.

- Administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting are mostly associated with regulations of norms, standards, and techniques, while many administrative violations stipulated in Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP are still general and not specific, leading to difficulties in understanding and handling administrative violations, or before handling administrative violations, it is necessary to compare with many documents, regulations, standards, etc. to make decisions.

final handling decision, this more or less causes difficulties and troubles for the handler and the person being handled.

- Some administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting stipulated in Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP have low fines, not enough to deter, leading to establishments being willing to violate some acts to bring economic benefits compared to having to comply with the requirements of fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards, commonly acts related to safety distances, fire prevention solutions, escape and transportation of dangerous substances and goods; some acts have low fines, leading to establishments being willing to pay fines, but not correcting them because the calculation of economic efficiency between paying fines and correcting violations will be many times greater than the amount of fines.

- Clause 1, Article 33 of Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP on violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting in the use of fire sources, heat sources, fire-generating and heat-generating equipment and tools stipulates: "Warning or fine from

100,000 to 300,000 VND for the act of using matches, lighters, or mobile phones in places where there are prohibitions". Point a, Clause 3, Article 33 of Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP on violations of regulations on fire prevention and fighting in the use of fire sources, heat sources, fire-generating and heat-generating equipment and tools stipulates: "A fine of 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 VND for the act of using fire sources, electronic devices or other fire-generating and heat-generating equipment and tools in places where there are prohibitions". The above regulation is still difficult to understand, ambiguous and not very feasible because the phrase "electronic equipment" here is too broad, almost any type of machinery today can be classified as electronic equipment such as digital cameras, televisions, or in places with prohibition regulations such as gas stations, even gas pumps are electronic devices, etc. If the regulation is as above, for example, at a gas station, customers who want to fill up gas must leave their cell phones, matches and lighters outside or they will be fined. In fact, at the station

Many people still freely call gas stations for gasoline, while the police force is "too thin" to be on duty to impose fines, and even if they want to impose fines, it is not easy [23].

Figure 2.1. Cell phone use at gas stations (where it is prohibited)

2.2. CURRENT STATUS OF HANDLING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF FIRE PREVENTION AND FIGHTING IN HANOI CITY

2.2.1. Factors related to the handling of administrative violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting in Hanoi city

2.2.1.1. Geographical location, relevant economic and social situation

Hanoi is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, has an important geographical and political position, and has special advantages over other localities in the country. "Hanoi is the heart of the whole country, the political brain

national administrative - political center, major center of culture, science, education, economy

"economic and international transactions" (Resolution 15 NQ/TW of the Politburo dated December 15, 2000). Hanoi is a major economic center of the country, providing high-end services (finance - banking, insurance, securities, telecommunications, healthcare, etc.); a high-tech industrial center, contributing greatly to the country's budget revenue; an international transaction center, an important national traffic hub. Hanoi is the most important traffic hub in the North, where all modes of transportation are gathered: road, river, railway, air, and where domestic and international traffic routes converge. Hanoi has two civil airports, and is the traffic hub of 5 railway lines: Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Hai Phong, Thai Nguyen. Road routes such as National Highway 1A, National Highway 5, National Highway 18, etc. Air routes are connected to many countries and provinces and cities across the country. With these favorable conditions, Hanoi is a commercial - service center with a large-scale influence, a place that generates flows to serve most of the demand for goods and services for the provinces in the Northern region [40, p. 16].

Being the place where the highest agencies of the Party, National Assembly, and Government are concentrated; the city has over 160 embassies, consulates, diplomatic agencies, international organizations, and foreign representative offices [12, p. 2]; Hanoi also has a large concentration of scientists and highly qualified officials in many fields, with hundreds of research institutes and many universities and colleges.

Hanoi has many of the largest and most important museums in the country such as: History Museum, Revolutionary Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Military Museum and some specialized museums such as Women's Museum, Geology Museum, Ethnology Museum, etc.

In 2008, implementing Resolution No. 15/2008/NQ-QH12 of the National Assembly on adjusting the administrative boundaries of Hanoi Capital, the entire province of Hanoi was merged.

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