Construction Of Environmental Courts Of Our Country And Perfection Suggestion

With the Frequent serious environmental problem which has brought serious negative effects to people, environmental justice has been focused on domestic theory and practice in recent years. Specifically, the establishment of environmental courts have caused a high degree of attention as a significant achievement for environmental justice. Environmental courts which are an attempt of environmental expertise of judicial organizations are designed in order to overcome the problem of the scattered ability for environmental justice. However, it doesn’t express the role and effect which is expected by people at the beginning. At this point, some people believe that in instead of the environmental courts, environmental cases should be under trial in traditional judicial organizations or specialty courts like the maritime courts. But we have to admit the positive role of environmental courts and our government encourages establishing environmental courts though normative documents. From a practical point of view, we should cherish the achievement of environmental expertise of judicial organizations, and build environmental courts in a better way on the basis of solving the building plight of the environmental courts.The first part demonstrates the status of the construction of the environmental courts in our county. First, taking the establishment of overall environmental courts in Guizhou province, Jiangsu province and Yunnan province for example, this part presents an overview of the setup status of current domestic environmental courts; second, through Normative documents enacted in Guiyang city, Wuxi city and Kunming city, and through the environmental cases heared in Guiyang City Intermediate People’s Court of Environmental Court, Qing Zhen Town People’s Court of Environmental Court, Wuxi City Intermediate People’s Court of Environmental Court and Kunming City Intermediate People’s Court of Environmental Court, this part Objectively shows the operation status and the construction to environmental protection since the first environmental court in China has been established.The second part is about analyzing the plight of the construction of environmental courts in China. The first plight is the problem about how to set up the court, including two aspects that the layout isn’t clear and the form of the court is chaotic. The second plight is the problem about the scope of accepting cases, also including two aspects that the scope is constricted and unified standard is absent. The third plight is the problem about functions of the court, involving trial function, executive function and service function.The third part is about targeted perfection suggestion to build environmental courts in China. The first suggestion is about setting up environmental courts. In terms of the court layout, it can be divided into longitudinal layout and horizontal layout. The longitudinal layout of the court should be coordinated with the level jurisdiction system in our country, and environmental expertise of judicial organizations should be established in four levels of courts; the horizontal layout of the court should be coordinated with the designation of jurisdiction in our country, and environmental courts should be reasonably stationed reflecting the characteristics of protecting ecosystem as a whole. In terms of the court form, balanced with other forms of the court, independent tribunal should be setted up with emphasis. The second suggestion is about the scope of accepting cases. Environmental courts should accept environmental cases involving civil litigation, criminal litigation, administrative litigation and public interest litigation with "indirect infringement on the environmental right" as a standard. The combination of specific enumerations and general regulations should be selected as the manner of the scope of accepting cases. The third suggestion is about how to fully perform the function of environmental courts. On one hand, trial function as the basic function of the court should be strengthened; on the other hand, the extension of trial function also should be valued. As the former, completing environment adjudication rule and building professional judicial personnel is necessary. as to the latter, environmental courts should do well the transition work in the field such as environmental judicial enforcement and judicial service through judicial suggestion and judicial education.