" Without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Legal Department and judicial police officers having general jurisdiction, sworn officials of the services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fisheries shall, on behalf of the State, local councils, communities or private individuals, investigate, establish, and prosecute offences relating to forestry, wildlife and fisheries. "

" The sworn officials of forestry, wildlife, fishery and Merchant Shipping services shall be judicial police officers having special jurisdiction as concerns forestry, wildlife and fisheries. Without prejudice to the recognized duties of judicial police officers having general jurisdiction, such officials shall establish facts and seize products collected without authorization and the objects used ta commit the offences, and write a report thereon. Such report shall be exempt from stamp duty and registration formalities. "

" The sworn officials of forestry, wildlife, fishery and Merchant Shipping services and judicia1 police officers having general jurisdiction shall, forthwith, and as the case may be, forward their reports to their superiors. "

" The official who drew up the report or, if need be, the person to whom the report is sent may require the offender to pay a deposit against a receipt. Such deposit shall be fixed by the services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fisheries. "

" Without prejudice to the Legal Department's right of prosecution, offences against forestry, wildlife and fishery laws and regulations may be compounded. "

" Where there is no compounding or in case such compounding is not executed, and following prior notification of the offender, court action shall, at the request of the services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fisheries, as the case may be and as the party to the proceedings, be initiated within 72 (seventy two) hours. li Ta this end, they shall be empowered ta : - bring any offender before the competent court at Government's expense; - submit any written statement and submissions and make any observations which they deem necessary to protect their interests. In such case, their representatives, in uniform and without caps, shall act in association with the State Counsel. They shall not be refused' the right to speak and lodge appeals as provided for by law in accordance with ordinary law procedure. Such appeals shall have the same effect as those lodged by the Legal Department. "

" The services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fishery shall be civilly liable for the activities of their employees in the exercise of or whi1e-exercising their duties. In that case, such services may, as and where necessary, appeal on behalf of their employees. "

" A fine of from 200,000 to 1,000,000 CFA francs or imprisonment for from 1 to 6 months or both such fine and imprisonment shall be imposed on whoever commits any of the fo11owing offences : clearing or setting fire on a State forest, an afforested or a fragile ecological zone, in contravention of Sections 14, 16(1) and (3), and 17(2) above; - use of a forest belonging to an individual for anything other than forestry purposes, in contravention of Section 39(2) above; - implementation of a development or exploitation inventory not in conformity with the norms established by forestry services, in contravention of Section 40(1) above; - unauthorized forest exploitation in a communal or community forest, in contravention of Sections 52, 53 and 54, without prejudice to damages for timber exploited~ as provided for in Section 159 below; - exploitation by sale of standing volume in a communal forest beyond the authorized felling plan and/or the period granted, in contravention of Section 45 above, without prejudice to damages for timber exploited, as provided for in Section 159 below; - acquisition of shares in a company with an exploitation title, without the prior approval of forestry services, in contravention of Section 42(3) above; - contravention of the established norms on the processing or marketing of forest products as provided for in Section 72 above; - non-demarcation of the boundaries of forest exploitation licence and the current felling plan; fraudulent use, forgery or destruction of marks, marking hammers, boundary marks or posts utilized by the services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fisheries, as the case may be; - contravention of the provisions on hunting arms stipulated in Sections 106, 107 and 108; - contravention of the provIsIons on fisheries stipulated in Sections 118 and 127 Cb), Cc), (d) and (k) of this law. "

" A fine of from 3,000,000 to 10,000,000 CFA francs or imprisonment for from one to three years or both such fine and imprisonment shall be imposed on whoever commits any of the following offences unauthorized forest exploitation in a State or Council forest, in contravention of Sections 45(1) and 46(2) above, without prejudice to damages for timber exploited, as stipulated in Section 159 below; - exploitation beyond the boundary of forestry concession and/or the volume and period granted, in contravention of Section 47(4) and 45 above, without prejudice to damages for timber exploited· as provided for in Section lS9 below; - production of false supporting documents relating particularly to the technical know-how and financial status, place of residence, nationality and payment of a security deposit, in contravention of Sections 41(2), 50 and S9 above; - acquisition of shares or setting up of a forest exploitation company with the intention of increasing the total area of exploitation to more than 200,000 hectares, in contravention of Section 49(2) above; - transfer of sale of standing volume, or of a forest concession without authorization, as well as the sale of such rights, in contravention of Sections 42(2), 47(5) and 60 above; - sub-contracting of personal forest exploitation titles, acquisition of shares in a company holding an exploitation title, without the prior approval of forestry services in contravention of Section 42 above; -falsification or forge of any document issued by the services in charge of forestry, wildlife and fisheries, as the case may be; - kil1ing or capture of protected animals either during period when hunting is closed or in areas where hunting is forbidden or close. "

" Any delay in the payment of these forestry, wildlife and fisheries taxes or fees Shall, without prejudice to the sanctions stipulated by this law, entail the following penalties; for a delay of more than 3 months; an increase of 10%; for a delay of marc than b months, an increase of 20 % ; for a delay of more than 9 months, an increase of 50% ; - for a delay of more than 12 months, an increase of 100%. "