Supreme Court releases another list of ten notable cases in environmental administration lawsuits

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　Beijing, March 30 – China Environment News reported that the Supreme People’s Court held a press briefing today to announce the top ten cases related to environmental protection handled by judicial authorities. This is the second time the Supreme People’s Court has released a list of the top ten cases in environmental protection administrative disputes. 　　It is reported that in December 2014, the Supreme People’s Court released the first batch of ten notable cases related to administrative environmental protection matters, which generated a positive response from society. The top ten cases in administrative litigation are released once again with the aim of fostering a seamless integration between environmental justice and environmental administrative law enforcement, urging the whole society to raise its awareness of environmental protection, and further advancing the development of environmental rule of law. 　　The ten case types released today are diverse in nature; they cover regulatory aspects of industries such as high-speed rail construction, steel processing, concrete production, warehousing, and livestock farming, as well as the control of pollution sources that are closely related to people’s daily lives, including noise, water sources, electromagnetic fields, and waste ； There are disputes over administrative responsibilities such as project quality inspection, environmental impact assessment, emission permits, and disclosure of environmental information, as well as lawsuits arising from administrative agencies’ failure to act, mutual shirking of responsibilities, and delays in fulfilling their duties ； It involves both judicial protection of the public’s legitimate rights to operate, own property, and be informed, as well as judicial oversight of the powers of administrative agencies regarding environmental investigations, penalties, and discretionary decisions. 　　“The top ten cases released today reflect, on the one hand, the progress and improvement in the public’s awareness of environmental protection; on the other hand, they clarify the judicial concepts and ruling principles of the people’s courts regarding ecological environment protection. ”He Xiaorong, head of the Administrative Tribunal of the Supreme People’s Court, explained at the meeting. 　　According to He Xiaorong, from January 2014 to November 2015, courts across the country accepted 43,917 administrative cases related to environmental and resource issues, with a large number of these cases involving the discharge of pollutants and wastewater. The top 10 environmental protection cases released this time are typical examples selected from those made publicly available. 　　These ten cases are all highly representative. Among them, the case of Wu Yi v. Jiangsu Provincial Department of Environmental Protection for failing to fulfill its statutory duties is a typical example regulating the performance of noise pollution supervision and management duties by environmental protection agencies ； The case of Puteer (Qingdao) Steel Processing Co., Ltd. v. Qingdao Environmental Protection Bureau regarding environmental administrative penalties is a typical example related to ensuring that environmental protection agencies carry out their duties in accordance with the law ； The case of Weihai Acodis Electronics Co., Ltd. v. Weihai Environmental Protection Bureau regarding environmental administrative penalties is a typical example related to the question of whether enterprises that relocate need to conduct environmental impact assessments again. 　　The case of Zhang Xiaoyan et al. v. Jiangsu Provincial Department of Environmental Protection regarding environmental impact assessment administrative permits is a typical example related to the protection of the rights to information and participation in environmental matters ； The case of Bishan New Rural Pig Farming Professional Cooperative v. Linxiang Environmental Protection Bureau regarding environmental penalty sanctions is a typical example related to environmental pollution caused by agricultural breeding ； The case of Jinhai Home Products (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. v. Shanghai Fengxian District Urban Management and Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau regarding administrative penalties is a typical example related to the investigation of manufacturing enterprises that fail to fulfill their obligations to collect and transport waste in accordance with the law ； The case of Shanghai Qinhui Concrete Co., Ltd. v. the People’s Government of Fengxian District, Shanghai – regarding the administrative decision to order closure – is a typical example related to the protection of drinking water sources ； The case of Liu Desheng v. Jiaozhou Environmental Protection Bureau regarding environmental administrative penalties is a typical example involving the assessment of the rationality in the exercise of administrative discretion. 　　Among these ten cases, the case filed by the People’s Procuratorate of Jinping County against the Jinping County Environmental Protection Bureau for failing to fulfill its statutory duties is an administrative lawsuit related to environmental protection interests. It is understood that since the implementation of the Decision of the Ren Da** Conference in July 2015, which authorized the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to carry out pilot programs for public interest litigation in certain areas, people’s courts have accepted a total of 12 cases of public interest litigation filed by procuratorial authorities, of which 3 have been resolved. This case is the first public interest litigation case filed by the procuratorial authorities to be concluded by a people’s court.