Study On Legal Liability For Environmental Remediation

Since the reform and opening up,China's economic development has made remarkable achievements and become the world's second largest economy.However,in the process of development,China has neglected the prevention and control of environmental pollution,resulting in frequent occurrence of haze,black and stinking water and toxic land.These problems not only affect people's well-being,but also pose a huge threat to the development of the nation and the country.In fact,between economic development and environmental protection is not antagonistic relationship,with the awakening of environmental consciousness,pay more and more attention to environmental protection in our country,from the eighteenth big to establish ecological civilization construction of strategic thinking,to 19 major proposed "pollution prevention",embodies the national determination to control environment pollution.In addition to the support of national policies,the governance of the environment requires legal means,which are mainly realized through the responsibility mechanism.However,China's environmental legal responsibility mechanism still needs to be improved.At the present stage,most of the environmental responsibility is based on "anthropocentrism" and lacks the responsibility of "ecocentrism",especially the responsibility mechanism of environmental restoration.Restoration responsibility is a special legal responsibility of environmental law,which plays an important role in environmental governance and improvement of environmental quality,and can effectively solve environmental pollution problems.There is only one earth for human beings,and every environment,such as atmosphere,rivers,lakes,oceans and land,that human beings depend on for their existence and development for generations,has irreplaceable uniqueness.Therefore,it is an excellent choice to repair the polluted environment and make it suitable for human beings to continue living and living.Environmental remediation liability mainly relieves the damage to the function and value of the environment,rather than the personal and property damage caused by environmental pollution,which is the biggest difference between it and traditional environmental liability.Environmental remediation refers to reducing the concentration and toxicity of pollutants in atmospheric environment,water environment and soil environment through physical,chemical and biological means,so as to restore blue sky,clear water and pure land and restore the service function of the environment.As environmental pollution requires joint rectification by multiple legal departments,the legal responsibility forenvironmental restoration consists of civil,administrative and criminal responsibilities.Throughout the world,environmental responsibility has been widely used outside the region,and formed a relatively complete theoretical system.Through the investigation of the regulations on environmental responsibility of the United States,the European Union and Germany,it can be found that these countries or regions pay great attention to environmental restoration,and strictly distinguish the responsibility for environmental restoration from the punitive responsibility for individuals.The United States has established a sound environmental restoration fund system,expanding the main responsibility of environmental restoration;The EU advocates the establishment of a public law responsibility for environmental restoration dominated by administrative responsibility.According to the different objects of restoration,the responsibility for the restoration of water,species and natural habitats and the responsibility for soil restoration are formed.In Germany,the responsibility system of private law and public law coexists.In our country,at present in addition to the applicable law of civil environmental public interest litigation cases to explain some issues of the environmental tort liability disputes explain some issues of applicable law as well as the new "law on the prevention and control of soil pollution to the environment beyond repair responsibility has carried on the detailed provisions,other laws or judicial interpretations have not keep up with the schedule,and some even repair not to the environment.Nevertheless,in practice,a large number of judicial judgments are applied to environmental restoration responsibility,and good restoration results have been achieved.However,the research on the legal liability of environmental remediation in China is still lagging behind.There are some problems,such as confusion between environmental remediation and "restoration",imperfect laws and regulations,lack of application of environmental private interest litigation,inadequate implementation of responsibility and lack of supervision mechanism.In order to solve these problems,the concept of restorative justice should be integrated into environmental governance.To clarify the legal relationship between environmental restoration and restoration;We should improve the legal system of environmental remediation responsibility,strengthen existing laws and regulations,supplement the absent laws and regulations,and design the legislative path.Remove obstacles to the application of repair liability in private interest litigation;Perfect the supervision mechanism of responsibility to escort the implementation of repair responsibility.