168
J. Wang
The MEC is another fundamental system for marine environmental protection
established by the revised MEPL.
111 According to the law, the person who caused
marine environmental damage is liable for compensation,
112 which includes the cost
for preventive measures, restoration expenses, loss during restoration and investigation expenses.
113 The department exercising the right of administration and supervision of marine environment is entitled to claim damages on behalf of the State,
where the damage causes great loss to the State.
114 Except for marine ecological
damage compensation, there is another type of compensation which refers to the
compensation for the marine ecological protectors. The marine protective compensation plays an important role in China’s ecological civilization progress, especially
in the context of the development of MERL system. With the implementation of
MERL, some regions will be classified as prohibited or restricted zones due to the
marine protection purpose, as a result, the economic developments in those regions
might be constrained, thus they should be properly compensated. To compensate the
ecological protectors from beneficiaries can encourage marine environmental protection and coordinate economic development and ecological protection. The revised
MEPL provides a legal basis for implementation of marine protective compensation
and a growing number of local governments have been developed financial transfer
payment of eco-compensation.
For the marine environmental damages, the MEPL also sets out clearly the legal
liabilities. Any violator may be subject to administrative liability, civil liability or
criminal liability, depending on the seriousness of the violation. The most common
penalty is imposing a fine by the competent authorities. The specific amounts of fines
for different violations are provided by law. The fines may be ranking in between
20,000 and 1,000,000 yuan and the highest fine is imposed in the case that transporting wasters from outside the boundaries of China to be dumped in the sea areas
under the jurisdiction of China, where the fine is not <100,000 yuan and no more
than 1,000,000 yuan.
115 Compared with the quota of fines provided by other environmental laws, the fine for marine environmental damage is much higher.
116 The criminal liabilities might be imposed on the person who causes grave pollution damage
to marine environment.
117 If the administrator, in charge of marine environmental
supervision and administration abuses its own power, or neglect his duty or engaged
marine spatial planning approaches in China: Marine functional zoning and the marine ecological
red line, Marine Policy, Vol. 62, 2015, pp. 94–101.
111 Article 24 of the revised LMEP provides that “The state shall establish and improve a
compensation system for marine ecological protection.”
112 MEPL, Art. 89.
113 Supreme People’s Court on Handling Cases concerning Compensation Disputes over Marine
Natural Resources and Environmental Damage, Art. 2.
114 MEPL, Art. 89.
115 MEPL, Art. 86.
116 Keyuan Zou, Current Legal Developments: People’s Republic of China, International Journal
of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2001, p. 354.
117 MEPL, Art. 90.
J. Wang
The MEC is another fundamental system for marine environmental protection
established by the revised MEPL.
111 According to the law, the person who caused
marine environmental damage is liable for compensation,
112 which includes the cost
for preventive measures, restoration expenses, loss during restoration and investigation expenses.
113 The department exercising the right of administration and supervision of marine environment is entitled to claim damages on behalf of the State,
where the damage causes great loss to the State.
114 Except for marine ecological
damage compensation, there is another type of compensation which refers to the
compensation for the marine ecological protectors. The marine protective compensation plays an important role in China’s ecological civilization progress, especially
in the context of the development of MERL system. With the implementation of
MERL, some regions will be classified as prohibited or restricted zones due to the
marine protection purpose, as a result, the economic developments in those regions
might be constrained, thus they should be properly compensated. To compensate the
ecological protectors from beneficiaries can encourage marine environmental protection and coordinate economic development and ecological protection. The revised
MEPL provides a legal basis for implementation of marine protective compensation
and a growing number of local governments have been developed financial transfer
payment of eco-compensation.
For the marine environmental damages, the MEPL also sets out clearly the legal
liabilities. Any violator may be subject to administrative liability, civil liability or
criminal liability, depending on the seriousness of the violation. The most common
penalty is imposing a fine by the competent authorities. The specific amounts of fines
for different violations are provided by law. The fines may be ranking in between
20,000 and 1,000,000 yuan and the highest fine is imposed in the case that transporting wasters from outside the boundaries of China to be dumped in the sea areas
under the jurisdiction of China, where the fine is not <100,000 yuan and no more
than 1,000,000 yuan.
115 Compared with the quota of fines provided by other environmental laws, the fine for marine environmental damage is much higher.
116 The criminal liabilities might be imposed on the person who causes grave pollution damage
to marine environment.
117 If the administrator, in charge of marine environmental
supervision and administration abuses its own power, or neglect his duty or engaged
marine spatial planning approaches in China: Marine functional zoning and the marine ecological
red line, Marine Policy, Vol. 62, 2015, pp. 94–101.
111 Article 24 of the revised LMEP provides that “The state shall establish and improve a
compensation system for marine ecological protection.”
112 MEPL, Art. 89.
113 Supreme People’s Court on Handling Cases concerning Compensation Disputes over Marine
Natural Resources and Environmental Damage, Art. 2.
114 MEPL, Art. 89.
115 MEPL, Art. 86.
116 Keyuan Zou, Current Legal Developments: People’s Republic of China, International Journal
of Marine and Coastal Law, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2001, p. 354.
117 MEPL, Art. 90.