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Zhejiang Pinghu Teachers Special Breed Farm v. Jiaxing Buyun Dye & Chemical Factory, etc. for Water Pollution Damage and Compensation (3rd retrial)

Country/Territory
China
Date
Apr 2, 2009
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
Supreme People's Court
Judge
CHEN Jia (presiding)
DONG Hua
ZUO Hong
Abstract
The plaintiff in 1st instance appealed to the Supreme People's Court for retrial the case on the grounds that the High People's Court of Zhejiang Province applied the law improperly when making the judgment of 31 May 2001. After a thorough analysis of the evidence presented by both parties, the Supreme People's Court found that industrial water drained by the defendants in 1st instance severely polluted the downstream river, and the water in the river had lost the function for industrial, farming and domestic uses. An animal expert testified that the hazardous substance in the drained water dissolved most of the oxygen in the water, which caused the suffocation of tadpoles, while the substance itself might not be found in the tadpole. The defendants in 1st instance could neither prove their pollution was not the cause of tadpoles' death, nor could they prove the unnatural death of the tadpoles was caused by other reasons, therefore, they could not present sufficient evidence denying the causal link between the pollution and the damage. The Supreme People's Court held that the Pinghu People's Court, Jiaxing Intermediate People's Court and High People's Court of Zhejiang Province applied principle of inversion of burden of proof improperly and shall be corrected. The Court revoked the judgment made by High People's Court of Zhejiang Province, and determined the existence of a causal link between the pollution and the damage, thus, the defendants in 1st instance shall bear the responsibility of make compensation to the plaintiff in 1st instance.
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