Supreme People's Procuratorate: In 2023, it will claim more than 960 million yuan in compensation for environmental damage from polluting enterprises and individuals
"In 2023, the scale and quality of public interest litigation handling by procuratorial organs across the country will generally show a steady and good development trend, and the handling of cases in all fields will develop in a balanced, coordinated and healthy manner. On March 9, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released the White Paper on Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Work (2023), which comprehensively displays the data on public interest litigation procuratorial cases.
According to the data, in 2023, procuratorial organs across the country will file and handle a total of 189885 public interest litigation cases. In terms of the types of cases, 167776 administrative public interest litigation cases and 22,109 civil public interest litigation cases were handled, demonstrating the unique institutional value of administrative public interest litigation.
In 2023, procuratorial organs across the country will supervise the protection of about 289,000 mu of polluted farmland, woodland, grassland and wetland, recycle and clean up 5.289 million tons of production solid waste, and claim more than 960 million yuan in environmental damage compensation from polluting enterprises and individuals through public interest litigation. Balanced and coordinated development of case handling in all fields. Among them, 83,924 cases were filed in the field of ecological environment and resource protection, accounting for 44.2% of the total number of public interest litigation.
Fight the tough battle of pollution prevention and control in depth
In October 2023, the Supreme People's Procuratorate reported to the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress on the procuratorial work of the people's procuratorate on the protection of the ecological environment and resources. The report fully demonstrates the effectiveness of procuratorial public interest litigation in playing its functional role, and has been fully affirmed. Over the past year, procuratorial organs across the country have consciously served and fought a tough battle against pollution, and comprehensively protected the "community of life" of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses and sands.
Fight the battle to defend the blue sky in depth. During the year, more than 5,800 public interest litigation cases in the field of air pollution prevention and control were handled. The procuratorial organs of Xinjiang and the XPCC carried out special supervision activities for the prosecution of public interest litigation on the prevention and control of air pollution in Wu-Chang-Shi, and handled a total of 91 cases. The Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate has deployed special supervision on the prevention and control of air pollution in the Guanzhong area, and promoted the rectification of pollution from coal, industry, motor vehicles, and dust. Implement the national strategy to address climate change, increase the intensity of handling cases in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, construction of high-energy-consuming and high-carbon emission projects, and damage to carbon sequestration and oxygen release, so as to promote synergy in pollution reduction and carbon reduction. The Supreme People's Procuratorate released 10 typical cases of procuratorial organs serving to ensure carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Explore the application of subscribing to carbon sinks to replace the restoration of ecological and environmental damage. In 163 cases, the Fujian procuratorate used carbon sinks to carry out alternative restoration, guiding the subscription of 16,900 tons of forestry carbon sinks and 18,100 tons of marine carbon sinks.
Fight the battle of defending the clear water in depth. On April 12, 2023, the Supreme People's Procuratorate held the first National Strategic Procuratorial Forum on Service Guarantee for the Yellow River in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and deployed procuratorial organs to serve and ensure the ecological protection and governance of the Yellow River. The Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Water Resources jointly launched a special action to protect water resources in the Yellow River Basin. During this period, the procuratorial organs of the nine provinces (autonomous regions) along the Yellow River focused on the problems of taking water without permission and taking water in excess of the permitted amount, handled more than 670 cases, and promoted the resolution of a number of outstanding problems in water conservation and control in the Yellow River Basin. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has guided the procuratorial organs of the nine provinces (autonomous regions) along the Yellow River to carry out multi-level protection of the ecological environment of the river basin in accordance with local conditions, focusing on the protection of water conservation functions in the upstream, desertification control in the midstream, and beach protection in the downstream, so as to form a joint force for protection. The procuratorate of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has deployed and carried out a special supervision action for public interest litigation to "help the comprehensive prevention and control of desertification", and made every effort to fight the tough battle of the "bend" of the Yellow River. The Dongping County Procuratorate of Shandong Province has urged multiple departments to perform their duties in coordination in response to the indiscriminate construction and occupation of illegal aquaculture in the Yellow River beach area, and promoted the resolution of the historical legacy of illegal aquaculture on the tidal flats covering an area of more than 150 acres that has lasted for 15 years. The Supreme People's Procuratorate will centrally assign 234 clues reflected in the ecological warning films of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin in 2022, and list 16 of the key clues for supervision. With the promotion of the Yangtze River Basin ship pollution control project filed and handled by the Supreme People's Procuratorate as the starting point, we will focus on helping to solve the outstanding problems of comprehensive management in the Yangtze River Basin that require upstream and downstream linkage and effective connection between shore and shore. Held a seminar on the prosecution of marine public interest litigation, deployed and implemented the newly revised Marine Environmental Protection Law, and jointly released 9 typical cases of public interest litigation on marine natural resources and ecological environment with the Supreme People's Court. Guide procuratorial organs in coastal areas to focus on protecting the marine ecological environment, protecting marine natural resources, and escorting the high-quality development of the marine economy, to help the comprehensive protection of the ocean.
Fight the battle to defend the Pure Land in depth. The Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Natural Resources have established a mechanism for coordination and cooperation between public interest litigation prosecution and land law enforcement and investigation. Jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, we carried out a special supervision activity of "public interest litigation to help the construction of high-standard farmland", and thoroughly investigated and rectified problems such as non-compliance with site selection, substandard quality, inadequate management and protection after construction, loss of construction funds, and "non-farming". As of December 2023, procuratorates across the country have handled a total of 1,426 public interest litigation cases. Jiangxi's procuratorial organs have carried out special activities for public interest litigation on cultivated land protection, urging the recovery and reclamation of more than 36,000 mu of cultivated land that has been illegally repurposed and occupied. The procuratorial organs of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning have carried out in-depth supervision activities on public interest litigation to protect black soil, and protect the "giant pandas in cultivated land". The Jilin Provincial Procuratorate found that invasive alien species destroyed black soil resources and harmed the public welfare in the work of "Procurator General's Field Inspection", and urged the removal of 79,000 acres of ragweed in the area. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has released typical cases of public interest litigation for wetland protection and desertification prevention and control, guiding procuratorial organs at all levels to increase the intensity of case handling and promote ecosystem governance and integrated protection.
Better serve the modernization of national governance
Procuratorial public interest litigation is a "Chinese plan" for public interest judicial protection that serves the modernization of national governance. Procuratorial organs across the country have given full play to the effectiveness of the system, persisted in being problem-oriented, innovated work mechanisms, and promoted national governance at a deeper level.
Focus on comprehensive management problems and play a functional role. In response to cross-regional, cross-basin, and cross-departmental issues of harm to the public interest, procuratorial organs are to give overall play to the leading role of integrated case handling, cross-regional coordination, and special oversight, to promote comprehensive governance in relevant fields. First, in terms of comprehensive river basin management, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued 7 "Typical Cases of Procuratorial Public Interest Litigation to Help River Basin Ecological and Environmental Governance" to provide reference guidelines for the handling of river basin cases. Procuratorial organs at all levels rely on the country's major regional development strategies to improve regional procuratorial coordination mechanisms, jointly carry out efforts such as the discovery, transfer and handling, and simultaneous supervision of leads, and promote the resolution of cross-regional and cross-basin ecological environment and resource protection issues. Starting from the integrity and overall situation of the river basin ecosystem, the Hubei Provincial Procuratorate highlights the overall management of the three major river basins of the Yangtze River, the Han River and the Qingjiang River, explores and improves the model of "territorial inspection + cross inspection + roving inspection", coordinates the upstream and downstream, left and right banks, and main and tributaries, and helps to rectify outstanding problems across river basins and regions. The Guangdong Provincial Procuratorate and the procuratorates of Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces have jointly established an inter-provincial cooperation mechanism for ecological and environmental public interest litigation in the adjacent areas of Guangdong and Jiangxi and the middle and upper reaches of the Beijiang River. Second, in terms of comprehensive management of mining pollution, in view of the problems such as the long time span of pollution, the number of illegal subjects, the wide range of fields involved, the many remaining problems, and the unclear responsibilities of administrative organs, the procuratorial organs have carried out investigations through designation of jurisdiction, hierarchical filing and elimination of resistance, etc., and urged different levels and departments to fully perform their duties, and investigate the responsibility for ecological damage of illegal entities in accordance with the law. The "Manganese Triangle" mining pollution control case handled by the Hunan Provincial Procuratorate involved multiple public welfare damage issues such as environmental pollution, resource destruction, production safety risks, soil erosion, and non-payment of taxes and fees for the quality of agricultural products. At the same time, the procuratorial organs have given full play to the synergistic role of administrative public interest litigation in supervising and urging the government to carry out compensation for ecological and environmental damages, providing a model of rule of law for the comprehensive management of mining pollution.
Actively perform duties in accordance with the law, and promote the governance of litigation sources. It not only pays attention to the public welfare repair of individual cases, but also pays more attention to actively discovering governance shortcomings and loopholes through the supervision of similar cases. Through case handling, the relevant departments were promoted to clarify their responsibilities and effectively solve the problem of "Kowloon is governed by water but not by water". Promote the formation of long-term mechanisms such as local legislation through case handling, and improve governance systems for relevant industries, fields, and regions. The Zhuzhou Municipal Procuratorate in Hunan Province has urged the Standing Committee of the Municipal People's Congress to include public interest litigation in local legislation such as the Several Provisions on the Protection of Lushui.
Give play to the preventive function of public interest litigation and do a good job of front-end governance. Focus on extending from the public interest infringement that has already occurred to the front end, and explore preventive public interest litigation. The Supreme People's Procuratorate directly handled the case of environmental pollution by express packaging solid waste, starting from recycling packaging, cooperating with the administrative departments, leading express delivery enterprises, packaging manufacturers and e-commerce platforms to promote front-end governance in pilot cities, and jointly promoting the introduction of the "Action Plan for Further Promoting the Green Transformation of Express Packaging (2023-2025)".
Innovate ways and means to better unleash governance efficiency. The first is to innovate service governance in the way of restoration. The Shandong Provincial Procuratorate issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Application of Alternative Restoration in Public Interest Litigation in the Field of Ecological Environment and Resource Protection", and 22 public interest litigation cases applied alternative restoration methods such as replanting and reforestation, multiplication and release, and labor compensation. The second is to innovate service governance in the working mechanism. The Jiangxi Provincial Procuratorate continued to deepen the "procuratorial suggestions + investigation report" case-handling model. In 2023, the province will use this model to submit a total of 119 research reports, of which 103 have been approved by major local leaders 118 times, to promote the management of sources of complaints in the fields of cultivated land protection, pollution control, production safety, personal information protection, and food and drug safety.
Practice the pursuit of high-quality and efficient case handling value
Focusing on the pursuit of the basic value of "handling every case with high quality and efficiency", procuratorial organs across the country have implemented the use of justiciability to improve accuracy and standardization, and continue to improve the quality and efficiency of public interest litigation procuratorial case handling.
Strengthen the leadership of higher courts. The Supreme People's Procuratorate took the lead in giving play to the head goose effect. There are many ports in the Yangtze River Basin, and it is difficult to control ship pollution due to the flow of ships, scattered supervision, and unclear responsibilities. After investigation and verification, the Supreme People's Procuratorate decided to file a public interest lawsuit on the issue of ship pollution in the Yangtze River, and adopted the "1+N" case handling model in which the Supreme People's Procuratorate is responsible for the main case and the procuratorial organs of 11 provinces (municipalities) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt simultaneously handle related cases, with hierarchical supervision and overall advancement. By the end of 2023, a total of 632 clues have been identified and 575 cases have been filed and handled, promoting the construction and renovation of ship pollution prevention facilities, improving the ship dismantling supervision system, optimizing the charging mode and price of ship pollutants, and promoting multi-departmental coordination and basin-wide linkage governance.
Create a system of case-handling norms at different levels. The Supreme People's Procuratorate has formulated guidelines for procuratorial public interest litigation in areas such as illegal mining and soil pollution. The Hebei Provincial Procuratorate has formulated guidelines for handling public interest litigation in eight specific categories, including air, water, cultivated land, minerals, wetlands, grasslands, forests, and oceans, in the field of ecological environment and resource protection.
Deepen the use of big data legal supervision models. Through the legal supervision model, the amplification and multiplication effect of "data" on the efficiency of public interest litigation procuratorial case handling should be stimulated to the greatest extent. The Shaanxi Provincial Procuratorate specially issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Digital Procuratorial Work of Ecological Environment and Public Interest Litigation" to guide the construction of 29 big data supervision models for public interest litigation in the field of ecological environment in 4 categories. The Shanxi Provincial Procuratorate has promoted the application of the legal supervision model for water resources protection in response to illegal phenomena such as enterprises taking groundwater beyond permission, failing to install metering facilities in accordance with the law, and failing to pay water resources taxes and fees in accordance with the law, and found 985 relevant clues and handled 15 similar cases throughout the province.
Strengthen technical means to assist in case handling. Actively respond to new challenges and new requirements for procuratorial public interest litigation cases involving an increasingly wide range of fields and a higher degree of professionalism, and accelerate the creation of a procuratorial public interest litigation technical support system represented by satellite remote sensing, drone aerial photography, and rapid testing. Based on the remote sensing data of the Beidou navigation satellite, the Miyun District Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality investigated environmental violations in remote locations and hidden methods, and found 48 clues and filed all cases.
Deepen departmental cooperation and public participation
Continuously enhance communication and cooperation with relevant departments, and form a linkage network of supervision and collaboration. The first is to promote deeper and broader cooperation and exchanges with judicial organs. For the first time, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court jointly released typical cases of administrative public interest litigation to the public, and on the first "National Ecology Day", typical cases of procuratorial public interest litigation on ecological and environmental protection were released. Jointly with the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Water Resources, etc., to carry out special law enforcement actions to crack down on illegal sand mining in the Yangtze River and protect the safety of rivers and lakes. The First Branch of the Hainan Provincial Procuratorate and the Haikou Maritime Court signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Jointly Building a Coordination Mechanism for the Judicial Protection of Marine Environmental Resources. The second is to build a multi-party coordination mechanism to unite the joint force of public welfare protection. The Supreme People's Procuratorate, together with the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, has improved the coordination mechanism between administrative law enforcement and procuratorial public interest litigation, and worked together to ensure the protection and management of forest and grass wet wasteland. Procuratorial organs at all levels are actively exploring countersigning coordination and cooperation mechanisms with departments in charge of ecology and environment, natural resources, and so forth, and establishing a river (lake, forest) chief + chief procurator general collaborative governance mechanism. The Hubei Provincial Procuratorate, together with 14 provincial units such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, signed a three-year implementation plan for the protection and restoration of the Yangtze River, and jointly signed the implementation opinions on ecological and environmental protection with 17 provincial units such as economy and information technology and natural resources. The Qinghai Provincial Procuratorate and the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and other 7 units jointly established the "China Water Tower" guardian + public interest representative mechanism, and are committed to building a coordinated "tower protection" ecological protection pattern.
Gather social forces to participate in public welfare protection. Continue to enrich the forms and carriers of public participation, consciously accept public supervision, and effectively consolidate the public foundation for public interest litigation. The first is to deepen the use of the "Benefiting the Public" volunteer procuratorial cloud platform. Since its launch in 2023, procuratorial organs across the country have recruited and hired more than 110,000 volunteers for the benefit of the public, and more than 10,000 clues have been submitted and pushed to the procuratorial case-handling system through the platform. Procuratorates at all levels have initiated more than 19,000 case consultations, invited to participate in hearings, and invited follow-up observation through the expert consultation network for public interest litigation cases. The second is to complete and improve mechanisms for the connection and transformation of deputies' suggestions, CPPCC proposals, and public interest litigation procuratorial suggestions. The Zhangjiajie City Procuratorate of Hunan Province transformed the procuratorial suggestions into the key handling suggestions of the Municipal People's Congress, and promoted the municipal government to invest more than 2,370 yuan to start the construction of the Yongding Urban Sewage Treatment Quality and Efficiency Project.
