Research On Environmental Public Interest Litigation

In recent years，with the emergence of numerous cases involving environmental publicinterest,environmental public interest litigation has gradually attracted everyone’s attention.The development of judicial practice of environmental public interest litigation has raisednew demands for transformation and development of environmental law and litigationlegal system. But at the present stage,environmental public interest litigation in our countryis still in the legislative vacuum belt and the process of judicial practice also appears to betoo cautious and conservative. In accordance with the current legal system，theadmissibility and judgment of such cases remain to be disputed. Where there isdamage?there is a remedy. The process of environmental public interest litigation isinevitable. It is not only beneficial to the mitigation and resolution of environmentalproblems,moreover it is a new legal form in line with the need of modern societydevelopment.The environmental protection characteristics determine that it is particularlydependent on the government’s administrative behavior. Wherever under the currentenvironmental administrative and judicial systems of China，the dislocation and absence ofenvironmental administrative actions,local protectionism in environmental enforcementand even powers of rent-seeking and other phenomena have led to the administrativepowers and the judicial system cannot take up the important task of maintainingenvironmental public welfare. Despite legislators and scholars in China on the question ofwhether China should establish a system of environmental public interest litigation is stillcontroversial,in recent years.a series of environmental public interest litigation cases haveemerged in our country. These show that the establishment of litigation system and judicialprocess in the field of environmental public interest is accelerating. The judicial practice ofenvironmental public interest litigation make legislators face an urgent and realisticissue,that is, how to provide appropriate remedies for the increasingly seriousenvironmental public interest litigation cases. Therefore China urgently need to establish a2 legal system that focus on dealing with environmental public disputes. Establishing asound and reasonable environmental public interest litigation system in order to safeguardand protect citizens’ environmental rights and public interest.Firstly,this paper reviews environmental public interest litigation and it introduces itsconcept,theoretical basis and practical significance. Then it analysizes and comparesenvironmental public interest litigation system of continental law countries and commonlaw countries on the background of foreign environmental public interest litigation. Whilethe paper focuses on the reaserch of environmental public interest litigation in developingcountries and proposes useful experience as the example of India. Besides it analysizes thesubject of China’s environmental public interest litigation and development of judicialreform on the basis of the current status of environmental public interest litigation systemand points out the existing dififculties and limitations in the development of theenvironmental public interest litigation system. Finally，this paper put forward systemconstruction plan on the process of environmental public interest litigation based on theforeign judicial experience and current development in our country. Specifically,it proposesconstructive suggestions from the three points of veiw-legal system,starting system andjudicial operation mechanism. The paper on the whole provides a wealthy theoreticalanalysis for our research of environmental pubic interest litigation system. Moreover it laysthe foundation for China’s judicial pratice of the establishment of environmental publicinterest litigation system.