我国环境公益诉讼立法存在的问题及其对策——美国判例法的新近发展及其经验借鉴

美国是世界上首创环境公民诉讼制度的国家,其判例对该制度的创新和发展起着非常重要的推动作用。1992年联合国环境与发展大会以来,美国环境公民诉讼判例法在诉讼目的的实现途径、原告的范围、起诉权的要件、法院的受案范围、诉讼的请求、律师参与诉讼的支持机制等技术层面具有一定的发展和变化。相比之下,中国的相关立法则很不发达。发展我国的环境公益诉讼立法,在法律体系方面,不仅应修订《宪法》、《环境保护法》、《民事诉讼法》和《刑事诉讼法》,还应当修订单行环境立法,发挥司法解释的作用;在具体规定方面,要明确规定环境公民诉讼的受案范围、主体要件、前提条件、程序规则、诉讼请求、举证方式和条件,不仅应承认公民的环境权,扩展环境损害的范围,扩大社会团体以及非直接利害关系人行使起诉权的案件范围,还要建立介入诉讼、环境公诉制度及有利于律师参与和代理诉讼的收费标准。

China's Legislative Problems of Environmental Public Welfare Suits——From the Angle of the Development and Experience of American Case Law

It is in the USA that citizen suits originate, whose decided cases act a very important role in the development of the regime. Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development 1992, many changes have taken place in the technical aspects of the environmental citizen suits case law, such as methods to realize the litigation aim, proper plaintiffs, requirements of right to sue, jurisdiction of the court, claims, and attorneys’ participation. Comparatively, relevant Chinese laws lag behind. So it is urgent for us to improve China’s legislation concerning citizen suits. In statutory framework, we should not only amend the Constitution, the Environmental Protection Act, the Civil Procedural Act and the Criminal Procedural Act, but also revise environmental regulations and improve judicial interpretations. The scope of citizen suits, requirements of litigants, preconditions, procedural rules, claims, and modes and conditions of production of evidence should be specified. We should not only affirm citizens’ environmental right, afford more protection against environmental damage, and extend the scope in which social associations and individuals without direct interest may have right to sue, but also admit intervening action, establish environmental public prosecution system and adopt a fee standard favorable to participation and representation of attorneys.