The Intergovernmental Environmental Protection Contract

Because of the two characteristics of environmental factors,which are integrity and mobility,environmental problems are very easy to cause cross-administrative regional impacts.With the deepening of regional integration in China,the local governments have actively explored the cooperation of cross-administrative regional environmental protection affairs.The mode of contractual cooperation has gradually been adopted in practice,such as the regional cooperative framework agreement related to environmental protection,and the agreement of horizontal Eco-compensation.However,due to the lack of relevant theoretical research and the rule of law,the intergovernmental environmental protection contract lacks is suspected of being divorced from the track of the rule of law.The intergovernmental environmental protection contract refers to the agreement,achieved on the basis of the equality and voluntariness,of rights and obligations in environmental protection affairs between two or more local governments or the environmental protection departments,which are no relation of administrative subordination between them.The parties of intergovernmental environmental protection contract are all administrative subjects,which forms the rights and obligations in administrative law.Therefore,the intergovernmental environmental protection contract has the legal nature of administrative contract which is the cornerstone of constructing intergovernmental environmental protection contract system.Although the Intergovernmental environmental protection contract has been adopted in practice and has achieved certain results,there are still defects in the intergovernmental environmental protection contract,including: the unclear capacity to contract,the unsmoothed relationship between the central government and the local government,the impediment of public participation,the failure to implementation of the liability for breach of contract,and the single method of dispute resolution.To build intergovernmental environmental protection contract system in China,we should first establish the subject system of intergovernmental environmental protection contract in the administrative contract law.The administrative subject,which has the function of environmental protection and the discretion of environmental protection affairs,is qualified to conclude an intergovernmental environmental protection contract.Secondly,we should establish the system of ratification and filing of intergovernmental environmental protection contracts.The contract that affects the political balance between the central government and the local government must be examined and approved by the State Council,and the contract related to important administrative matters must be submitted to the higher government for examination and approval,otherwise it will only be reported to the higher government for record.Thirdly,we should establish a public participation system to ensure public participation in the whole process of contracting and implementing of the intergovernmental environmental protection contract.Next,the system of liability for breach of contract should be established,and the defaulting party who does not perform or improperly fulfil the contractual obligation of the intergovernmental environmental protection contract shall bear the adverse consequences of the law.Finally,we should set up the settlement system of contract disputes in China,including administrative mediation system,administrative arbitration system and administrative litigation system.