China's top court drafts judicial interpretations for new ecological code

China’s Supreme People’s Court is finalizing judicial interpretations for the country’s newly adopted Ecological and Environmental Code, which will come into force on August 15. At a press conference on June 5, Vice-President Yang Linping announced initiatives to ensure the code’s effective implementation, including revising outdated regulations and enhancing judicial expertise in pollution, low-carbon development, and ecological conservation. The code, adopted in March, marks China’s second legal framework titled a ‘code,’ following the 2021 Civil Code. Yang emphasized the need for judges to specialize in environmental cases, with a focus on protected regions like the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and national parks. By 2025, over 2,500 tribunals and panels dedicated to environmental adjudication will be established to improve case handling. In 2023, Chinese courts concluded 229,000 first-instance environmental cases, including 24,000 criminal and 164,000 civil cases. Judges addressed air, water, and soil pollution in 4,906 cases and imposed penalties for wildlife crimes in 23,000 cases. Yang highlighted collaborative efforts with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to crack down on fraudulent environmental service providers, vehicle emission violations, and illegal waste dumping. A notable case in Zhejiang province saw a company and 10 individuals convicted for illegally discharging waste hydrochloric acid into a lake, resulting in a 480 million yuan ($70.85 million) restoration and compensation order. The court’s initiatives aim to align legal practices with the new code’s goals of ecological protection and sustainable development.