Environmental courts and public interest litigation in China: Guest editors introduction

Chinese Law and Government

Volumn 43, Issue 6, 2010, Pages 4-17

  Wang, Alex L ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 80053318311     PISSN: 00094609     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2753/CLG0009-4609430600     Document Type: Review

References (32)

1. For example, China is the world's largest emitter of sulfur dioxide, mercury, and greenhouse gases. See "China Overtakes U.S. in Greenhouse Gas Emissions," New York Times, available at www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/ business/worldbusiness/20iht-emit.1.6227564 .html (June 2007);
2. USEPA, Mercury Emissions, the Global Context, www.epa.gov/mercury/ control-emissions/global.htm (February 2010);
3. Joseph Kahn, Jim Yardley, "As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes," available at www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/ world/asia/26china. html?pagewanted=all (August 2007). China's Ministry of Environmental Protection noted that in 2005 China had more than 50,000 disputes related to environmental problems, and that a major chemical accident occurred on a Chinese river every two days that year.
4. See "China Is Set to Lose 2% of GDP Cleaning Up Decades of Pollution," Bloomburg News, available at www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-16/ china-set-to-lose-2-of-gdpfighting- pollution-as-doing-nothing-costs-more.html (September 2010). Estimates have put the economic cost of China's environmental degradation at between 3.5 and 8 percent of GDP.
5. See "Cost of Pollution in China," World Bank, available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT/Resources/ China-Cost-of-Pollution.pdf (February 2007).
6. See Marine Environmental Protection Law (promulgated by the Standing Comm. of the Nat.'l People's Cong., Aug. 23, 1982, effective Mar. 1, 1983), arts. 32-40, available at www.lawinfochina. com/law/display.asp?id=20;
7. Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution (promulgated by the Standing Comm. Nat'l People's Cong., Aug. 23, 1982, adopted May 11, 1984, amended May 15, 1996 and Feb. 28, 2008), art. 46, available at www.lawinfochina.com/ law/display.asp?db=1&id=6722;
8. Law on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution (promulgated by the Standing Comm. Nat'l People's Cong., Sept. 5, 1987, amended Aug. 29, 1995 and Apr. 29, 2000), art. 46, available at www.lawinfochina.com/Law/ displayModeTwo. asp?id=1178&keyword=;
9. Law on Water and Soil Conservation (promulgated by President of the People's Republic, June 29, 1991, effective June 29, 1991), arts. 32-40, available at www.china.org.cn/environment/2007-08/20/content-1034358.htm;
10. Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste (promulgated by the President of the People's Republic, Oct. 30, 1995, effective as of Apr. 1, 1996), arts. 59-73, available at http:// english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/policyrelease/internationalpolicy/200703/ 20070304471567 .html;
11. Law on the Prevention and Control of Pollution From Environmental Noise (promulgated by the President, Oct. 29, effective Mar. 1, 1997), ch. VII, available at www.china.org .cn/environment/2007-08/20/content-1034448.htm;
12. Law on Radioactive Pollution Prevention and Control (promulgated by the President, Oct. 30, 1995, effective Apr. 1, 1996), ch. VII, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/zhengfu/2003-06/30/content-944698.htm.
13. Canfa Wang, Public Outrage Not Cannot Replace the Law in Environmental Pollution Cases, available at www.hc23.com/news/content-126748.shtml;
14. Charlie McElwee, A New Era of Environmental Crimes in China?, available at www.chinaenvironmentallaw .com/2009/08/20/a-new-era-of-environmental-crimes- in-china/ (Aug. 2009).
15. See clauses 19 and 27.
16. Tao Bie, Public Interest Environmental Litigation (China: Legal Press, 2007), 1.
17. Gao, J., and A. Wang, "Environmental Courts and the Development of Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China," 3 Journal of Court Innovation 37 (2010).
18. Xuehua Zhang, "Enforcing Environmental Regulations in Hubei Province, China: Agencies, Courts, Citizens," (Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 2008), 105-106 (hereinafter, "Enforcing Environmental Regulations").
19. All-China Environment Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Promoting Environmental Protection Through Judicial Means, Draft Report, Jan. 2011.
20. Gao and Wang, "Environmental Courts and the Development of Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China."
21. Nanfang Daily, "Yunnan Environmental Court Has Not Tried a Single Environmental Public Interest Case in Two Years," available at http://nf.nfdaily.cn/ynxx/content/2010-10/18/ content-16758572.htm (Oct. 2010).
22. Gao and Wang, "Environmental Courts and the Development of Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China."
23. See Fuhua Wang, "The Dilemma of the Procuratorate's Role in Civil Suits," available at www.ccelaws.com/chengxufaxue/2009-01-01/6063.html (Jul. 2002);
24. Tao Bie, "Environmental Public Interest Litigation is Emerging," available at www.cenews.com.cn/ xwzx/fz/qt/200812/t20081229- 597206.html (Dec. 2008).
25. Jingrong Li, "Port Container Firm Sued for Environmental Violation," available at www.china.org.cn/environment/news/2009-07/09/ content-18100902.htm (Jul. 2009).
26. Associated Press, "China Accepts First Environment Lawsuit Against Government," www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/31/china-accepts-first-envir-n- 248439.html;
27. The All- China Environment Federation (ACEF), "China's First Environmental Public Interest Civil Litigation Brought by a Social Organization-the All-China Environment Federation (ACEF)-Is Resolved Through Mediation," available at www.acef.com.cn/html/hjflfw/ wqdt/3854.html (Sep. 2009).
28. All-China Environment Federation (ACEF), "China's First Environmental Public Interest Administrative Lawsuit-Brought by the All-China Environment Federation-is Accepted," available at www.acef.com.cn/html/ hjflfw/wqdt/3361.html (July 2009).
29. Zhijiang Zhou "Guiyang City Establishes Environmental Protection Courts to Make Polluters of Water Resources Accountable," available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/ 2007-11/21/content-7119580.htm (November 2007).
30. Licheng Bai, "Environmental Protection Tribunal of Kunming Intermediate Court Established and Kunming has Specialized Court for Environmental Cases," available at www .yunnan.com.cn/2008page/yn/html/ 2008-12/12/content-161890.htm (December 2008).
31. Shanghai AFP, +"Chinese Premier Wants Action on Taihu Lake Pollution," available at www.terradaily.com/reports/Chinese-Premier-Wants- Action-On-Taihu-Lake-Pollution- 999.html (Jun. 2007);
32. Joseph Kahn, "In China, A Lake's Champion Imperils Himself," available at www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/world/asia/14china.html (October 2007).