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Z. Lv
Civilization, the Supreme People’s Court issued relevant judicial policies, emphasizing the need to adhere to principles set out in Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological
Civilization when hearing environmental cases, the harmonious coexistence of man
and nature, respect for the environment’s capacity, and the belief that lucid waters and
lush mountains are invaluable assets. It attaches importance to the ecological environment, advocates high-quality economic development, protects the basic rights
and interests of the people, upholds green justice concepts such as the laws of nature,
environmental protection first, and green development, and embraces the path of
green justice with Chinese characteristics. First, the Chinese government adopted
a bottom-up approach to promoting judicial specialization in environmental law.
Marked by the establishment of local environmental courts, judicial specialization in
environmental law began from the local level, with intermediate people’s courts and
lower-level courts playing a major role. These local environmental courts handled
many major environmental pollution incidents. Local government officials pay high
attention to judicial specialization in environmental law. Since 2010, the Supreme
People’s Court has issued a number of relevant documents and established environmental courts to promote judicial specialization in environmental law. Second, a set
of rules were set out for the handling of environmental lawsuits. China made continuous efforts to advance judicial specialization in environmental law and integrate
jurisdiction over environmental civil proceedings and some environmental administrative proceedings. To support the development of the Yangtze River Economic
Belt, the Xiongan New Area and the national strategy of integrated development of
the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Supreme People’s Court worked to reform the
jurisdiction system for environmental cases in the Yangtze River Basin, the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region, and Sanjiangyuan; To meet the needs of judicial authorities
and advance the reform of the ecological civilization system, the Supreme People’s
Court issued judicial interpretations, further refined and improved court procedures
and rules for public-interest environmental cases, as well as lawsuits concerning
mining rights, marine resources and environment damages. Third, the focus of the
environmental case handling mechanism shifted from specialization to standardization. A 3 + 2 litigation model that handles both traditional and new litigation cases and
hears both general and special cases was established. Arrangements for procedures
of environmental criminal trials reflect the country’s commitment to strengthening
environmental protection. The rules for judging environmental civil cases emphasize
the protection of ecological interests, while those for environmental administrative
cases pay more attention to the substantive review of ecological and environmental
protection. Clearly, China has been standardizing the handling of traditional and
new environmental cases in parallel with advancing the judicial specialization in
environmental law.
Z. Lv
Civilization, the Supreme People’s Court issued relevant judicial policies, emphasizing the need to adhere to principles set out in Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological
Civilization when hearing environmental cases, the harmonious coexistence of man
and nature, respect for the environment’s capacity, and the belief that lucid waters and
lush mountains are invaluable assets. It attaches importance to the ecological environment, advocates high-quality economic development, protects the basic rights
and interests of the people, upholds green justice concepts such as the laws of nature,
environmental protection first, and green development, and embraces the path of
green justice with Chinese characteristics. First, the Chinese government adopted
a bottom-up approach to promoting judicial specialization in environmental law.
Marked by the establishment of local environmental courts, judicial specialization in
environmental law began from the local level, with intermediate people’s courts and
lower-level courts playing a major role. These local environmental courts handled
many major environmental pollution incidents. Local government officials pay high
attention to judicial specialization in environmental law. Since 2010, the Supreme
People’s Court has issued a number of relevant documents and established environmental courts to promote judicial specialization in environmental law. Second, a set
of rules were set out for the handling of environmental lawsuits. China made continuous efforts to advance judicial specialization in environmental law and integrate
jurisdiction over environmental civil proceedings and some environmental administrative proceedings. To support the development of the Yangtze River Economic
Belt, the Xiongan New Area and the national strategy of integrated development of
the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Supreme People’s Court worked to reform the
jurisdiction system for environmental cases in the Yangtze River Basin, the BeijingTianjin-Hebei region, and Sanjiangyuan; To meet the needs of judicial authorities
and advance the reform of the ecological civilization system, the Supreme People’s
Court issued judicial interpretations, further refined and improved court procedures
and rules for public-interest environmental cases, as well as lawsuits concerning
mining rights, marine resources and environment damages. Third, the focus of the
environmental case handling mechanism shifted from specialization to standardization. A 3 + 2 litigation model that handles both traditional and new litigation cases and
hears both general and special cases was established. Arrangements for procedures
of environmental criminal trials reflect the country’s commitment to strengthening
environmental protection. The rules for judging environmental civil cases emphasize
the protection of ecological interests, while those for environmental administrative
cases pay more attention to the substantive review of ecological and environmental
protection. Clearly, China has been standardizing the handling of traditional and
new environmental cases in parallel with advancing the judicial specialization in
environmental law.