Cases to guide environmental courts

China’s Supreme People’s Court has provided details of 10 typical cases of environmental pollution offenses in the development of the Yangtze River economic belt, a move it said would provide guidance to courts.

Defendants listed in the cases had carried out unlawful activities that contributed to environmental degradation of the air, water, soil, and natural resources, said the SPC.

In one case, a court in east China’s Zhejiang Province found a chemical company guilty of causing lasting pollution to the ecological environment, even though the industrial solid wastes in the soil were dumped 10 years ago. The company was also ordered to restore the functions of the ecosystem.

Wei Wenchao, an SPC judge tasked with handling environmental protection cases, said the release of the 10 cases will help unify courts’ judgmental criteria and judicial rules when they hear cases involving environmental pollution.

Over the last several years, courts along the Yangtze River economic belt have provided solid support for high-quality development in the region by adopting stringent standards when hearing such cases, he added.