Study On The Standing Of Environmental Public Interest Litigation

With the mankind's increasing capability to explore and utilize the environment, events of environmental pollution and ecological damage can be found everywhere. The public appeals to environmental public interest litigation. The system of environmental public interest litigation is very effective to restrain the behavior to damage the environment in most countries all over the world. In the western developed countries, it has been firmly established in various ways and a comparatively complete system has been founded. In China, environmental public interest litigation still rests on the level of theoretical research on environmental laws and there is still a gap in the legislation. One of the main reasons is that Chinese environmental laws are mostly implemented by the authorities in environmental administration and execution, which lacks effective public involvement. The present litigation legal system limits the standing to the direct interested party. Since general citizens are considered as non-direct interested party of environmental public interest, it can not prevent environmental pollution and ecological damage. Thus the definition of the standing is really crucial and core issue in environmental public interest litigation.This thesis clarifies the definition, characteristics and theoretical principles of environmental public interest litigation and analyzes rationally the drawbacks of problems related to the standing of environmental public interest litigation in Chinese current litigation system, which is based on legislation of the standing of Chinese environmental public interest litigation. Drawing on experience of the establishment of the standing environmental public interest litigation in other countries, it puts forward the plaintiffs' range of the establishment of Chinese environmental public interest litigation, such as the standing of general citizens, environmental groups, prosecutor's office and relating government offices, This will ensure the efficient involvement of general citizens on environment and public affairs, promote social equity, justice and harmony, further advance the democratization process of environmental decision-making, realize the rule of law and eventually help to probe into the people oriented, all-around, harmonious and sustainable scientific concept of development.