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Pollution of the Shiliugang River also known as Guangzhou Haizhu District Procuratorat v. Xinzhongxing textile treatment plant

Country/Territory
China
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Dec 9, 2008
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Guangzhou Maritime Court
Seat of court
Haizhu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province
Judge
Cheng Shengxiang; Xiong Shaohui; Gu Enzhen
Reference number
No. 382 (2008), First Instance, Guangzhou Maritime Court [ (2008) 广海法初字第382号]
Language
Chinese
Subject
Legal questions, Water
Keyword
Hazardous substances Inland waters Waste management Resource/damage valuation Access-to-justice
Abstract

In this case, the procuratorate of the Haizhu district sued the director of the Xinzhongxing textile treatment plant for causing the pollution of the Shiliugang River in the Guangdong province.

Indeed, following the investigation of the Haizhu Environmental Bureau, it was established that the Xinzhongxing textile treatment plant was violating several of the environmental regulations as it was dumping an important part of its wastes in the river.

The action was brought in front of the Guangzhou Maritime Court. The judges held that following the Article 3 of the Water law and Article 73 of the General Principle of Civil Law, the Shiliugang River is a national resource and that consequently the jurisdiction of the procuratorate of the Haizhu district who have the right to sue for the environmental damages caused to the river. Consequently, the court held that the director of the Xinzhongxing textile treatment plant was responsible for the population and for the environmental damage that took place. As a result, the defendant was condemned to pay a compensation for the losses caused by the pollution.

 (Contribution: Case provided by Professor Tianbao QIN, Tang HE, and Han GAO, Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, China)

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