On Building The System Of Environmental Administrative Public Interest Litigation In China

The original intention of design of traditional environmental administrativelitigation system had the double functions of protecting the private interest andmaintaining and supervising the administrative organ’s administration in accordancewith the law, but in actual operation, it was often partial to solve the legal proceedingsinstituted by the administrative counterpart for objection to the specific administrativeact of the government administrative organ, its significance of private relief was morethan the significance of supervising the administrative organ’s administration inaccordance with the law. In the field of environmental protection, the practicalmethod is often opposite to the overall trend of protecting citizen’s environmentalright, which does not conform to the requirements of the maximum interest. Due toparticularity of environmental issues, the specific administrative act of administrativeorgan does not only influence the administrative counterpart, but will also involve inothers unrelated with the specific administrative act, which has a wide influence thatother administrative acts are incomparable. Furthermore, as the environmentaldeterioration degree is often closely related with prescription of solution andtreatment, once the specific administrative act of administrative organ has the threatdamaging environment, the error correction function of legal action will beparticularly urgent. It can be said that in the field of environmental administrativeproceeding, the protection to environmental public interest is more than the individualrelief. With the development of times, the orientation of individual right has beengradually transferred to orientation of social right, the protection of public interest hasalso been put on agenda. The generation of public interest litigation is the reflectionof public benefit protection in judicial field.The legal system of public interest litigation was originated in the ancientRoman times, however, it was only until the20thcentury that public interest litigationwere widely concerned by people. The environment public interest litigation wasfirst originated in western developed countries such as America. On the basis oftheory of "private procurator", America established the clause of "citizen litigation" in Clean Air Act in1970and endowed citizens with the qualification of suing the illegalpollutant dischargers and Environmental Protection Agency not performing the legalobligations. A series of important laws later all expressly stipulated the citizens’litigation qualification through the clause of "citizen litigation", making citizenlitigation developed in respective adjustment range. Other developed countries suchas Japan, France and Britain all developed their environmental public interestlitigation with their own characteristics.Compared with the western developed countries, China still has a large gap inenvironmental administrative public interest litigation system. First, on legal basis,there is no express provision on environmental right in the constitution and laws ofChina, there is a lack both in entity and procedure. In specific system, theAdministrative Procedure Law of China adopts "theory of stakeholders’ qualificationin law", the plaintiff’s qualification and acceptance scope are relatively narrow,insufficient to meet the urgent requirements for environmental public interestprotection in actual life. Notwithstanding this, it has been the general trend to createthe environmental administrative public interest litigation system of China, we shouldfollow the situation, only in this way can we really guarantee citizens’ basic right,solve environmental contradiction, so as to promote the better development of societyand economy.From theoretical research and system design, first it is proposed that it isrequired to add corresponding terms of protecting the citizens’ environmental rightand litigation right in constitution, fundamental law for environmental protection, sliplaw for environmental protection and administrative procedure law, making itpossible for citizens to seek for relief in case of damage of public interest; second, thespecific systems are designed briefly, including expanding the plaintiff’s standing touse, enlarging the acceptance scope of administrative litigation, reasonably allocatingthe burden of proof, protecting and rewarding the plaintiff and reasonably bear thelitigation costs as well as improving citizens’ consciousness of environmental law,improving court’s status and other supporting measures.