The Exclusion Mechanism for Illegal Logging of Nationally Protected Plants from Criminal Liability

The characterization of the crime of endangering nationally protected plants as an abstract dangerous offense has led to the excessive criminalization of illegal logging of nationally protected plants. This overcriminalization arises from the mainstream legal interest perspective that prioritizes institutional or systemic order over ecological values. While the ecological legal interest perspective rightly emphasizes environmental protection, its attribution of legal subjectivity to ecological systems is untenable. A humanistic legal interest framework centered on dual values (economic and ecological) not only resolves the ambiguity inherent in correlational or reducible judgment models but also harmonizes economic and ecological values, satisfying both the normative and ontological dimensions of the legal interest concept. Consequently, the assessment of whether illegal logging of nationally protected plants should be excluded from criminal liability hinges on the extent of damage to these dual values. Under the post-facto and pre-facto behavioral dichotomy, evaluating value impairment must account for the offsetting effect between value restoration (post-facto) and value damage (pre-facto). For post-facto scenarios (transplantation-based restoration), exclusion from liability depends on whether restoration sufficiently compensates for damage. This aligns with the "doctrine of necessity for punishment," which operates after establishing the "necessity of punishment" and requires a holistic evaluation of substantive exclusion (under criminal substantive law) and procedural exclusion (under criminal procedural law) based on preconditions, objectivity, and subjectivity. For pre-facto scenarios (non-transplantation cases), exclusion relies on whether the value impairment is de minimis, necessitating substantive interpretation guided by the classification and grading system for nationally protected plants. Together, these approaches address the overcriminalization of illegal logging of nationally protected plants.