The Research On The Environmental Damage Compensation In China

Since reform and opening-up, our economy has a development. As the appearingof the environmental price, there are much frequent environmental pollutions. Alltheses environmental damages are reminding us that we must deal with theenvironmental damages as quickly as we can. Theoretically, the basic thought to dealwith the environmental damage is prevention. But actually, what the environmentaldamages need is the post relief. And the compensation becomes the most core remedymethod. At the same time, environmental damage compensation is also the importantmethod to suppress the environment deterioration and protect the environmentalinterests. Because of the particularity of environmental damage, the currentenvironmental laws in our country could not provide the sufficient remedy to theenvironmental damage. Therefore, it is very important to anglicize the environmentaldamage compensation institution.There are many different thoughts to perfect the system of environmental damagecompensation law. Some of the scholars propose that we should draft up the speciallegislation of environmental damage compensation law. Although there are somedifficulties in establishing the special legislation, yet as the main idea to solve theproblems of environmental damage compensation, it is significant to draft up thespecial legislation of environmental damage compensation law. It could perfect thesystem of environmental laws, and make up the shortages of the civil law and civilprocedure law. Furthermore, it could also protect the interests of the victims inenvironmental damages to achieve the social justice.There are four chapters in the thesis besides the introduction and conclusion. Thedetails are as follows:In the first chapter, it introduces the definitions and characteristics of theenvironmental damage and environmental damage compensation. It also distinguishesthe differences among "environmental tort","environmental disoperation", and"environmental damage". There are some specialties of environmental damage, suchas: the inequity of the liability subject, the valuableness of the action libera in causa,the complexity of the damage process and the seriousness of the damage result. Allthese characteristics decide the environmental damage is different from the commonact of tort.In the second chapter, it introduces the current environmental damagecompensation law in our country, and anglicizes the insufficient of environmental damage compensation law in sustentative content and procedural content. Today, ourcountry has built up the system of environmental damage compensation law whichtaking the civil law as the principle, the environmental law as the basis and thejudicial interpretation as the supplement. But there still are some shortages in theenvironmental damage compensation law, such as, the deficiency of the basic law, thelegislation bank, and the conflicts between the different laws. In substantive aspect,there are some problems in the causal relationship, the extent of compensation and theprinciple of liability. In the procedural aspect, there are some defects in theprosecutor’s qualification, the evidential burden and the prescribed period forlitigation.In the third chapter, it introduces the experiences of foreign countries inenvironmental damage compensation law. It takes Germany, Japan and America as theexamples, and presents the different environmental laws in the three countries. Thecausal relationship in Germany, the property guarantee system in Japan and theenvironmental public interest litigation in America, all of them are the guidance in theestablishing of the environmental damage compensation law in our country.In the fourth chapter, it introduces the special law of the environmental damagecompensation in our country. It anglicizes the necessity and the feasibility of thespecial law. Establishing the special law of environmental damage compensation isnot only the urgent need of reality, but also in the theoretical aspect. Based on theanalysis in the preamble, in order to handle the environmental tort disputes efficiently,protect and improve the environment and promote the development of society, itpresents some detail suggestions in sustentative aspect and procedural aspect to theenvironmental damage compensation law in our country.To sum up, aiming at the current situation of the environmental damagecompensation law in our country, and considering the aim of drawing up the speciallaw, it is inevitable tendency to draft the special law of environmental damagecompensation. According to the comparisons of different advanced experiencesamong foreign countries, and combining the reality in our country, we have theconfidence to establish the environmental damage compensation law with Chinesecharacteristics.