Research On The Cost Burden Of Environmental Public Interest Litigation By Social Organizations

Litigation costs are an important element in bringing a lawsuit and proceeding smoothly.Environmental public interest litigation is particularly important in litigation because of its high target and time-consuming features.The analysis found that although the number of social organizations in China is increasing,the number of social organizations that file environmental public interest lawsuits is still not large.Looking at typical judicial cases,cost is one of the important factors that limit social organizations to file environmental public interest lawsuits.Litigation costs shall include costs such as litigation fees,lawyer fees,appraisal fees,and travel expenses.China’s existing environmental public interest litigation cost burden mechanism only provides for litigation costs,that is,the losing party bears litigation costs,but there is no clear legal support for reasonable expenses such as attorneys’ fees,such as appraisal fees and travel expenses.Analyzing the cost of environmental public interest litigation,and exploring the cost burden of environmental public interest litigation filed by social organizations,is of great significance for optimizing the public interest litigation system.The main ideas of this paper are: first,the basic overview of the cost burden system of environmental public interest litigation in social organizations;second,the status and shortcomings of the cost burden mechanism of environmental public interest litigation in Chinese social organizations;and finally,the cost of environmental public interest litigation in social organizations Suggestions for improving the burden mechanism.The first part summarizes the cost burden mechanism of environmental public interest litigation of social organizations.This section introduces from three aspects,one is to define the concepts of "litigation cost","environmental public interest litigation cost of social organization" and "social organization’s environmental public interest litigation cost burden mechanism" layer by layer.The second part is the status quo and deficiencies of the environmental public interest litigation cost burden mechanism of social organizations.Taking 41 cases as samples,the legislative status and judicial status of the cost burden of environmental public interest litigation in Chinese social organizations are analyzed in detail,and the plight of environmental public interest litigation in Chinese social organizations is pointed out.The third part is the suggestions for improving the cost burden mechanism of environmental public interest litigation of social organizations.This article believes that it should be improved in the following aspects: first,to improve the existing losing party burden system;second,to establish a legal aid system for public interest litigation and to improve the system of expert supporters for public interest litigation;and third,to establish a plaintiff winning award mechanism to encourage more Subjects participate in public interest litigation.