Top court issues interpretation on civil environmental cases

China's top court issued a judicial interpretation on how to handle civil environmental cases involving public interest litigations on Tuesday, a week after the country's new Environment Protection Law was effective.

Although the judicial interpretation is only targeting the cases relating to public interest litigations, "it is a timely manner that the Supreme People's Court explained the current Environmental Protection Law," said Wang Canfa, a professor from China University of Political Science and Law.

Under the judicial interpretation, social associations, groups and foundations without administrative and criminal punishments over the past five years can lodge the public interest lawsuits relating to the environment.

"The punishments should have relation to a social association's business, or in other words, punishments for traffic offenses are not included," Wang explained.

Meanwhile, intermediate people's courts are given rights to hear such environmental cases involving public interest litigation, but grassroots courts with environmental and ecological tribunals could also deal with the cases after they get permission from local high people's court, according to the judicial interpretation.

Now, intermediate people's courts have been asked to establish a tribunal that can try cases relating to the environment since last year, the top court said, but adding that some grassroots courts, including those in Yunnan and Hainan provinces, had built up the same tribunals much earlier for a pilot program.

In addition, the judicial interpretation also says a qualified court can cope with these environmental cases about public interest litigation over its administrative region, which means the jurisdiction is over different administrative areas, said the top court's spokesman, Sun Jungong.

Sun added the judicial interpretation will take into effect on Wednesday.