Court makes it easier to sue offenders
Print Edition
THE Chinese government has granted public interest groups more power to sue those that flout environmental protection laws, its highest court said.
Social groups that work to fight polluters judicially will gain special status and have court fees reduced, the Supreme People’s Court said on its website.
They will also be allowed to sue firms or individuals across China, regardless of where the organization is based.
The term the court used for the groups covers both nongovernmental and government-backed organizations.
China has more than 700 registered and regulated environmental protection groups, according to Xinhua news agency.
The new rules came into force yesterday, the court said, adding that they were issued “in response to questions on the matter.”
A side effect of the country’s meteoric economic rise has been severe pollution in major cities, leading to increased public dissatisfaction. Recent studies have shown that roughly two-thirds of China’s soil is estimated to be polluted, and that 60 percent of underground water is too contaminated to drink.
Last month, six Chinese firms were fined 160 million yuan (US$25.8 million) for dumping thousands of tons of chemicals into rivers after being sued by a local government-backed social group.
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