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Friday, July 18, 2025
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Laos to Criminally Prosecute Offenders of Natural Resource Crimes

This Week

The Lao government has officially ended the use of administrative fines for crimes involving natural resources, replacing them with criminal prosecution. 

The Office of the Supreme People’s Prosecutor (OSPP) issued this new regulation on 7 July. 

As a result, wildlife and environmental crimes have now been elevated to a top priority within the prosecutorial system. 

Prosecutors must now actively pursue criminal cases involving wildlife, aquatic animals, and forest resources, and investigate possible links to money laundering and related crimes. They are strictly prohibited from settling these cases administratively.

Additionally, the OSPP has warned that any prosecutors or officials who violate these instructions will face legal consequences themselves. 

The directive is part of the Cooperative Action against Wildlife Crime project by the OSPP and Wildlife Conservation Society, who note that such crimes are often tied to transnational networks and linked to drug and human trafficking, illegal weapons, money laundering, and terrorism.

The order supports Laos in fulfilling its commitments under international agreements like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which aims to ensure that global trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Laos joined CITES on 1 March 2004, with the Convention taking effect domestically on 30 May that year.

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