Environmental Public Interest Litigation Plaintiff Qualification Study

Environmental judicature has been confronted an unexpected embarrassment, nowadays in China, that is, the environmental legislation is more and more prosperous, while the environmental deterioration is progressing. As a manifestation of the civil environmental principle of citizen, The Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation system's establishment is imperative. As far as the plaintiff is the one starting the proceedings, the study of the standing to sue in the Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation is a prerequisite for the establishment. Analyzing Chinese judicial environmental disputes, comparing foreign environmental public interest litigation systems, the paper has discussed the main qualification of the plaintiff and reached a conclusion that the individual citizens, on one hand, the social organizations, the national government bodies and Prosecutor's offices should be endowed with the standing to sue. On the other hand, we also should to integrate the existing legal system, in order to develop the system of Environmental civil public interest litigation into a real legal system in China. The Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation system should be a breakthrough of the "direct stakeholders" restriction.The first chapter set forth some basic definitions related to Environmental Public Interest Litigation. At the same time, the characteristics of Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation have been analyzed in the first chapter.The second chapter introduces the organ and growth of Environmental Public Interest Litigation in foreign countries. The author examines the standing of the Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation System, both in common law system countries and continental system countries. The main countries having this system, including the U.S.A., the U.K., India, Germany and France, tend to be an open attitude towards the standing of the Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation.The third chapter expounds our environmental litigation situation both in the aspects of environmental legislation and in the judicial proceeding practice. Present legislation restricts the standing in Environmental Public Interest Litigation, that's why a lot of damaging acts have been excluded from trial. The author presents the proposition of the standing of Environmental Public Interest Litigation's building in the last chapter. Combined to Chinese situation and economy value, the individual citizens, the social organizations, the national government bodies and Prosecutor's offices should be permit to bring a lawsuit of Environmental Public Interest Litigation.