Chinese Environmental Law: Effects of Academic Theory Viewed Through Three Decades of Implementing the Rule of Law

Abstract

Three decades have passed since the enactment in 1979 of the first piece of environmental protection legislation in China, entitled “The Trial Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China”. In that time, august development of various academic theories concerning environmental protection has guided legal practice. These include the Theory of Environmental Rights, the Theory of Public Participation in Environmental Protection, the Scheme of Compensation for Environmental Harm, and the Theory of Ecological Damages. Together, these have played a significant role in the development of environmental protection in China across the legislative, judicial and law-enforcement planes. Taking as a starting point the ‘Five-Year Plan’, this article introduces first the establishment and development of the Rule of law as it to the environment (hereinafter ‘environmental rule of law’, or ERL). This is done to enable a better understanding of topical issues, both theoretically and practically. Then, a brief survey will be undertaken of the above-mentioned theories attempting to trace their development. Finally, the author presents their conclusions.