Socialization Of Civil Compensation For Environmental Liability

Since the 20th century, accompanied by large-scale industrialization and urbanization, environmental problem is growing more and more serious and environmental torts increase every day around the world. The damage and its relief caused by environmental pollution and ecological damage have already become a major social problem confronted by China in the course of economic and social development. Once environmental torts occur, how to provide timely, adequate and effective legal relief for innocent victims is an important issue for environmental law to resolve. Owing to the special nature of environmental torts, the existing environmental civil liability system based on the traditional individual responsibility has obvious limitations in coping with the serious consequences of environmental torts, particularly when the inflicter can not be identified or unable to afford his liabilities. Grim reality of environmental torts urgently forces us to find new ways to relive victims from new theoretical perspectives and new design of system. Against this background, the socialization relief system design and practice of environmental civil liability in the Western countries becomes a solution for reference to our current environmental civil liability issues. From the viewpoint of socialization of civil compensation for environmental liability, the author studies how to provide full and effective relief for victims of environment torts and make their loss to the smallest possible extent. In the process of writing this paper, comprehensive methods such as value analysis, historical analysis, comparative analysis and system analysis are employed to expound the concept, theoretical base, practice of system in Western countries and the construction of our corresponding system of socialization of civil compensation for environmental liability.First, the paper clearly defines the concept of socialization of civil compensation for environmental liability. The socialization of civil compensation for environmental liability in the field of environmental torts is an appropriate adjustment or supplement to the traditional civil liability system for compensation based on the social standard, i.e., while maintaining relief function of traditional civil liability for compensation, the losses caused by environmental torts are to be shared or absorbed by the social organization of specific individuals or unspecific assembly through construction of...