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Author	Mr Tran Cong Thiet
Organisation/Institution	Hue University of Law, Hue university
Country	VIETNAM
Panel	Environmental Law
Title	RECONSTRUCTING VIETNAM’S ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE COMPENSATION REGIME FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE: TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY, JUSTICE, AND ASEAN LEGAL INTEGRATION
Abstract	This writing addresses the necessity of reconstructing Vietnam’s environmental damage compensation (EDC) regime for hazardous waste, in the context of growing challenges of sustainability, ecological justice, and the increasing demand for legal harmonization within ASEAN. The research centers on a key question: How can Vietnam’s EDC legal framework be reformed to not only address its internal weaknesses but also align with international standards and promote effective cross-border environmental governance in Southeast Asia? Using a combined approach of doctrinal legal analysis and comparative law, the paper systematizes Vietnam’s current provisions on environmental liability, from the 2015 Civil Code, the 2015 Criminal Code (as amended in 2017), to the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection. Our analysis identifies three major shortcomings: (i) difficulties in proving causation and quantifying pure ecological damage; (ii) the absence of effective financial security mechanisms for timely pollution response; and (iii) complex and lengthy dispute settlement procedures that hinder community access to justice. To address these limitations, the article proposes a comprehensive reform model grounded in lessons from the European Union Environmental Liability Directive (EU ELD), the U.S. Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) method, and emerging advanced legal trends in the ASEAN region. Specific proposals include: (1) refining the strict liability principle and its exceptions; (2) institutionalizing collective litigation procedures to enhance enforcement capacity; (3) establishing a multi-tiered financial security system combining risk deposits, mandatory environmental insurance, and an Environmental Restoration Fund for hazardous waste; and (4) creating a specialized hybrid adjudication mechanism integrating legal and technical expertise to ensure swift, science-based judgments. The main contribution of this research is to provide a feasible legal roadmap for Vietnam while offering a transferable framework for other ASEAN countries facing similar challenges. The article concludes by discussing policy implications to foster regional dialogue and move toward legal harmonization in hazardous waste governance, thereby contributing directly to the ASEAN Community’s goals of sustainability, equity, and integration. Keywords: hazardous waste; environmental damage compensation; strict liability; collective litigation; financial assurance; ASEAN environmental governance; regional harmonization.
Biography	Tran Cong Thiet is a Ph.D. candidate and Lecturer in Environmental Law at the Faculty of Economic Law, Hue University of Law, Vietnam. He has over ten years of teaching and research experience in environmental and administrative law, focusing on environmental liability, hazardous waste governance, and the right to a clean and healthy environment. Thiet’s recent publications include “Analysis of the Right to Live in a Clean and Healthy Environment under Vietnamese Law and Suggestions on How It Could Be Improved” (Studia Prawnicze KUL, 2024); “A Comparison of Information Disclosure Requirements under Vietnamese and French Contract Law” (The Hong Kong Journal of Social Sciences, 2023); and “Criminal Liability of Legal Entities for Acts of Causing Environmental Pollution under Vietnamese Criminal Law” (Vietnamese Journal of Legislative Studies, 2022). His earlier work in Studia Prawnicze KUL (2021) compared compensation for environmental damage under Vietnamese and EU law. He has actively participated in international conferences and capacity-building programs, including the 2025 Blended Learning Course on Strengthening Legal Responses to Environmental Harm (Bangkok, co-organised by UNDP and APCEL), the 2024 Early Career Scholars Writing Workshop at the National University of Singapore, and the UCL–KCL Postgraduate Environmental Law Symposium (London, 2023). Thiet is also a member of the Regional Task Force for the Development of a Model Environmental Law Curriculum for Greater Mekong Subregion Countries, jointly supported by the Asian Development Bank, UNEP, and the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law. His current research focuses on aligning Vietnam’s environmental damage compensation framework with regional and EU approaches to strengthen sustainability and ecological justice.