Recently, the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court announced the Draft Resolution providing guidance on the application of crimes related to the protection of wildlife, endangered, precious, and rare animals of the Criminal Code.
Article table of contents
Noteworthy is the guidance on the application of regulations pertaining to the illegal possession of body parts or products of wildlife, endangered, precious, and rare animals.
The first proposed option stipulates that individuals who illegally possess body parts or products of wildlife, endangered, precious, and rare animals prior to January 1, 2018, will not face criminal charges but may be subject to administrative penalties.
According to the second option, the Resolution does not provide guidance on this matter. Instead, the Supreme People's Court will issue a document requesting the competent authorities to handle it as follows:
- Within a 1-year period, individuals possessing illegally must surrender the items to the competent authorities. If the deadline passes and the possessor fails to surrender, they will face criminal liability;- Alternatively, a timeline to register for legal ownership should be stipulated. If the registration period expires without registration, the possession becomes illegal and then subject to criminal liability.
For more details, see additional regulations at Draft Resolution guiding the application of criminal offenses regarding the protection of wildlife, endangered, precious, and rare animals as stipulated in the Criminal Code.
