Criteria for filing cases of deforestation, as well as conviction and sentencing

Legal analysis: Illegal felling of forests or other forests shall be prosecuted if one of the following circumstances is suspected: illegal felling of more than 2 to 5 cubic meters; Illegal felling of 100 to 200 young trees.

According to the laws of our country, whoever illegally logs down forests or other forest trees, and the quantity is relatively large, is to be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the amount is huge, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given; where the amount is especially huge, a sentence of seven or more years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given. Whoever violates the provisions of the Forest Law by indiscriminately felling forests or other forest trees, and the quantity is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the amount is huge, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given;

Legal basis: Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 345.

Illegal felling of forests or other forest trees, in relatively large quantities, is to be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the amount is huge, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given; where the amount is especially huge, a sentence of seven or more years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given. Whoever violates the provisions of the Forest Law by indiscriminately felling forests or other forest trees, and the quantity is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the amount is huge, a sentence of between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given;

Illegally purchasing or transporting trees that are clearly known to be illegally or indiscriminately felled, and the circumstances are serious, are to be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention or controlled release, and/or a fine; where the circumstances are especially serious, the sentence is between three and seven years imprisonment and a concurrent fine. Those who illegally or indiscriminately cut down forests or other trees in national nature reserves shall be given heavier punishments.

Provisions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security on Standards for Filing and Prosecution of Criminal Cases under the Jurisdiction of Public Security Organs (1).

Article 72.

Illegal felling of forests or other forest trees shall be prosecuted if any of the following circumstances are suspected: (1) illegal felling of more than 2 to 5 cubic meters; (2) Illegally felling 100 to 200 or more young trees. In any of the following circumstances, the purpose of illegal possession is to be provided for in this article"Illegal logging of forests or other trees"：

1) Cutting down forests or other forests owned by the State, collectives, others, or contracted management by others without authorization; (2) Cutting down forests or other forests contracted by the unit or by oneself without authorization; (3) Felling forests or other forest trees owned by the State, collectives, others or contracted management by others outside the locations specified in the forest felling permit. The number of trees specified in this article and Article 73 and Article 74 of these regulations shall be calculated by standing timber volume, and the calculation method is: the volume of raw timber divided by the yield of the tree species; "Young trees", refers to trees with a DBH of less than five centimeters.

Massive deforestation is an important component of the crime of deforestation. According to the Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Cases of Illegal Felling and Indiscriminate Felling of Trees, the starting point for a large number of trees is that in forest areas, denudation can generally be controlled at 10 cubic meters and 120 cubic meters or seedlings 500 cubic meters and 11,200 cubic meters. In non-forested areas, the amount of deforestation is generally controlled at 5-10 cubic meters, or 250-600 saplings, or the loss of the manuscript is equivalent to the above-mentioned losses of the source mill.

If the felling of forests is close to the quantity specified in the preceding paragraph, and in any of the following circumstances, punishment shall be imposed in accordance with the standards provided for in the preceding paragraph:

1) Organizing, planning, or instigating the destruction of forests, or destroying large areas of vegetation, resulting in the loss of forest resources;

2) Felling of shelter forests, economic forests and forests with special purposes;

3) Indiscriminate felling or irremediable;

4) Failure to heed dissuasion to deforestation or threats to forest protection personnel;

5) Other serious and indiscriminate logging, such as indiscriminate felling of precious forests. If indiscriminate deforestation does not reach a large amount, it does not constitute a crime and is a general violation. In accordance with the provisions of Article 39 of the Forestry Law, the competent forestry department shall order the replanting of five times the number of trees cut down indiscriminately, and impose a fine of not less than two times but not more than five times the amount of illegal gains.

1. The target of the crime of deforestation.

In accordance with the principle that the amount of timber used is lower than the amount of growth, the state strictly controls the annual forest harvesting. Separation of forest ownership, use and harvesting rights. Without approval, the relevant authorities and the receipt of the felling permit are not allowed to be cut without the ownership and use of the tree, or arbitrarily cut in violation of the location, quantity, species and methods specified in the felling permit despite the receipt of the felling permit.

Otherwise, it may constitute the crime of indiscriminate felling of trees by hail. Forest resources are an extremely valuable resource and are of great significance to improving the living environment of human beings. Therefore, the state has formulated a set of laws and regulations to protect forest resources.

No unit or individual may illegally cut down trees.

The targets of crime include shelter forests, timber forests, economic forests, fuel charcoal forests and special forests. The Forest Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that individuals who are not within the scope of this crime shall not plant scattered trees in front of or behind their houses.

2. How to determine the joint crime of deforestation.

1. Objective aspect.

1) The act committed by the joint criminals must be the crime of deforestation, and it must be a joint crime. Deforestation is a common criminal act, that is, the actions of the common criminals are directed to the same goal, are interconnected, cooperate with each other, and constitute an organic whole criminal act.

2) The behavior of the co-perpetrators of deforestation is linked by the common criminal target, which constitutes an organic whole of deforestation criminal activities.

3) There is a causal relationship between the joint criminal act of deforestation and the criminal result.

2. Subjective aspect.

There is a common mens rea. The first is the cognitive factor of complicity:

1) Each co-perpetrator of deforestation is not only aware that he or she is committing the crime of deforestation, but also that there are other co-perpetrators who are co-committing the crime with him/herself.