International Workshop on Participation Principle Indicators under the Environmental Law:
Towards Establishing International Collaboration in Pursuit of Environmental Justice.
9-10 March 2015, Osaka University, Japan

Significance of China’s Newly-revised
Environmental Protection Law in 2014 and
The Provisions Pertinent to Public Participation

Prof. Wang Jin, Peking University Law School

Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Establishment of Public Participation in China
3. Main Contents Relevant to “Public Participation”
Clause in Environmental Protection Law
4. Problems of Public Participation in Environmental
Protection
5. Conclusion

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1. Introduction• On April 24, 2014, the Standing Committee of NPC
issued the revised Environmental Protection
Law(EPL)– Article 5 Environmental protection shall adhere to theprinciples of giving priority to protection, focusing on
prevention,
conducting
comprehensive
treatment,
engaging the public in protecting the environment, andenforcing accountability for damage.
– The biggest highlight of this law is the establishment of a
special chapter named “Information Disclosure and Public
Participation” for the first time.

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3• Chapter 5
Information Disclosure and Public
Participation– Article 53 The right to be informed and the obligation of
disclosing information– Article 54 Disclosure of government information– Article 55 Disclosure of information by key pollutantdischarging units– Article 56
Disclosure of the environmental impact
statement of construction projects by the construction
unit and competent departments for examination andapproval and soliciting opinions– Article 57 The report right of the public on environmental
violations– Article 58 Environmental public interest litigation

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2. The Establishment of Public Participation in
China• 2.1 The word of “public participation” was brought infrom overseas– China’s Constitution from 1954 to 1982
• China’s Constitution in 1954
– Article 2 stipulated, “National People’s Congress, thelocal people’s congresses and other organs of statepractice democratic centralism.”– Article 17 stipulated, “All organs of state must rely on themasses of the people, constantly maintain close contact
with them, heed their opinions and accept theirsupervision.”

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5• China’s Constitution in 1982
– Article 2 stipulated, “The people administer state affairs andmanage economic, cultural and social affairs through various
channels and in various ways in accordance with the law.”

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6• 2.2 The provisions on public participation inenvironmental legislation since 1979
– Environmental
ProtectionLawimplementation) enacted in 1979

(for

trial

• Article 4 stipulated, “Overall planning, rational layout,
comprehensive utilization, conversion of the harmful into theuseful, and reliance upon the masses with everybody taking
part in the protection of the environment for the benefit of thepeople”.
• Article 8 stipulated, “all citizens have the right to supervise,accuse and bring a suit against the unit or the individual who
has caused pollution and damage to the environment”.

– Environmental Protection Law revised in 1989
• Article 6 stipulated, “All units and individuals shall have theobligation to protect the environment and shall have the rightto report on or file charges against units or individuals thatcause pollution or damage to the environment.”
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– In June 1993, the former State Environmental
Protection Administration, the former State Planning
Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the People’s
Bank of China jointly issued the Notice of Enhancing
the Management Work of Environmental Impact
Assessment on the Construction Project that are
Loaned by International Financial Organizations• Public participation in the process of EIA on the construction
project that were loaned by international financialorganizations.
• Established a special chapter to express in the EIA
Statement, in order to consider and compensate the interestsof the potentially concerned public and social organizations.
• The work of public participation could be in the stage ofpreparing and reviewing of the Study Plan and the reviewingof the Statement.
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• To define “the public” who have the right to propose
opinions and suggestions as “NPC deputies, CPPCC
members, mass groups, academic groups or the
representatives of neighborhood committees and village
committees at the place (district or county) where
loan projects are located”.
• It was “NPC deputies, CPPCC members and mass groups at
the place (district or county) where loan projects are locatedthat consult the public’s opinions whose interest will beaffected”.

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– In July 1996, the State Council held the fourth
National Conference on Environmental Protection• Deployed the objectives, tasks and measures forenvironmental protection work of the 21st century.
• Adopted the Decision on Several Issues Concerning
Environmental Protection.
– Established the mechanism for public participation, to play therole of social organizations, to encourage public participation inenvironmental protection work, and to report and expose allkinds of violations against environmental laws and regulations.

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– The Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law
revised and adopted on May 15 in 1996 and the Law
on Prevention and Control of Pollution From
Environmental Noise enacted on October 29, 1996
stated,• “An environmental impact statement shall contain comments
and suggestions of the units and residents in the place where
the construction project is located.”– Article 15 of an administrative regulation named theRegulations on the Administration of Construction
Project Environmental Protection passed by the StateCouncil on November 18, 1998 stipulated,• When compiling the environmental impact statement, theconstruction unit shall seek for comments and suggestions of
the units and residents in the place where the construction
project is located in accordance with relevant laws andregulations.
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– The Law on EIA was adopted by the NPC Standing
Committee in October 2002 and went into effect on
September 1, 2003. Relatively detailed provisions on
public participation in this law are as follows:•••

The principle of public participation was established.
The public participation in EIA on planning was stipulated.
The public participation in EIA on construction projects was
stipulated.

– The Administrative License Law adopted by the NPC
Standing Committee in 2003 explicitly stipulated thegeneral procedure of the hearing and provided thatthe administrative license involving the interests of theothers shall solicit the opinions from the third party•

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Greatly promoted the public participation in environmental
protection.

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– In February 2006, the former SEPA issued the Interim
Measures on Public Participation in Environmental
Impact Assessment– In January 2007, the State Council adopted theRegulation on the Disclosure of Government
Information• In February the same year, the former SEPA (now the MEP)
issued the Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental
Information (for Trial Implementation).

– Apart from legal documents enacted by the state andcentral government, some local authorities such as
Shanxi Province, Shenyang and Kunming have also
formulated local regulations of public participation inenvironmental protection since 2005

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– On December 2014, the Standing Committee ofPeople’s Congress in Hebei Province also adopted
the local regulation Ordinance on Public Participation
in Environmental Protection in Hebei Province.
– At present, the Chinese government is ready to
accede to the Aarhus Convention, the primary work ofwhich is to analyze, and demonstrate the pros andcons after China’s accidence

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3. Main Contents Relevant to “Public
Participation” Clause in Environmental
Protection Law• “Public participation” is treated as one of thebasic principles of environmental protection in
Article 5– Environmental protection shall adhere to theprinciples of giving priority to protection, focusing on
prevention, conducting comprehensive treatment,
engaging the general public in protecting theenvironment, and enforcing accountability fordamage.

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• 3.1 Establishing the public’s right to be informed ofenvironmental information, the right to participate inand supervise over environmental protection andthe guarantee duty of the government• Article 53 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations
shall be entitled to access environmental information, andparticipate in, and supervise, environmental protection inaccordance with the law.
The competent departments for environmental protection andother departments with duties for supervision andadministration over environmental protection of the people’s
governments at all levels shall disclose environmental
information pursuant to the law, improve the public
participation process, and provide facilitation to the citizens,
legal persons and other organizations for their participationin, and supervision over, environmental protection.

– In May 2014, the Ministry of Environmental Protection
published the Guidance on Promoting Public Participation
in Environmental Protection
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• 3.2 Clearly defining the scope and contents of theenvironmental information that different levels ofgovernments and the competent authorities should
disclose– Article 54 The competent department for environmental protection of
the State Council shall uniformly release national environmental quality
information, information on the monitoring of major pollution sourcesand other material environmental information. Competent departments
for environmental protection of the people’s governments at or above
the provincial level shall regularly publish press communiqués onenvironmental conditions.
The competent departments for environmental protection and otherdepartments with duties for supervision and administration overenvironmental protection of the people’s governments at or above thecounty level shall disclose information on environmental quality,
environment monitoring, environmental emergencies, environmental
administrative licensing, administrative punishments, the collection anduse of pollutant discharge fees and other relevant information.
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The competent departments for environmental protection and otherdepartments with duties for supervision and administration overenvironmental protection of the local people’s governments at or above
the county level shall record the information on the environment-related
violations of laws committed by any enterprises, public institutions andother producers and business operators in the social credit archives andmake the list of violators public in a timely manner.
– Article 68 Where any of the local people’s governments at all levels andthe competent departments for environmental protection and otherdepartments with duties for supervision and administration overenvironmental protection of the people’s governments at or above thecounty level commits any of the following acts, the persons in charge
thereof who are directly responsible and other personnel thereof who
are directly liable shall be given a demerit, a serious demerit or be
demoted; where grave consequences are caused, the foregoing
persons shall be removed from office or be dismissed, and the primarypersons in charge of the relevant departments shall resign from office:…
(7) Where it fails to disclose environmental information that should be
disclosed in accordance with the law;…
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• 3.3 Clearly defining the contents of environmental
information that key pollutant-discharging units shalldisclose• Article 55 A key pollutant-discharging unit shall make public
the names of its major pollutants, the ways of emission, theemission concentration and total volume, whether theemission exceeds relevant limits, as well as the construction
and operation of pollution prevention and control facilities andaccept social supervision.
• Article 62 Where a key pollutant-discharging unit, in violationof this Law, fails to disclose or fails to truthfully disclose
environment information, the competent department forenvironmental protection of the local people’s government at
or above the county level shall order it make the disclosure,
impose a fine on it and make an announcement thereof.

– In December 2014, the Ministry of Environmental
Protection released the Measures for the Disclosure ofEnvironmental Information by Enterprises and Public
2015/3/9 Institutions19• 3.4 Making additional provisions on public
participation in environmental impact assessment of
the construction projects– Article 56 The project unit of a construction project for which anenvironmental impact statement is required pursuant to the law
shall explain relevant situations to the public when preparing theenvironmental impact statement, and solicit public opinions
sufficiently.
Competent departments for examination and approval of theenvironmental impact assessment documents for construction
projects shall make public the full text of the environmental
impact statements of construction projects upon receipt thereof,
except for matters involving state secrets and commercial
secrets. Where they discover that public opinions have not been
sufficiently solicited for certain construction projects, they shallorder the project owners concerned to solicit public opinions.

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• 3.5 Clearly defining the report right of the public onenvironmental violations and its exercise approach– Article 57 Citizens, legal persons and other organizations shall beentitled to report and complain against entities and individuals thatcause environmental pollution and ecological damage to the competentdepartments for environmental protection or other departments with
duties for supervision and administration over environmental protection.
Citizens, legal persons and other organizations that discover the failureof certain local people’s governments at any level or any of thecompetent departments for environmental protection and otherdepartments with duties for supervision and administration overenvironmental protection of the people’s governments at or above thecounty level to perform environmental supervision and administration
duties in accordance with the law, may report the situations to theauthorities at higher level or supervisory authorities.
The departments receiving the reporting shall keep confidential the
relevant information of the reporters and protect the legitimate rights
and interests of the reporters.

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• 3.6 Explicitly stipulating that environmental
protection organizations have the right to bringenvironmental public interest litigation– Article 58 Any of the social organizations satisfying the following
conditions may file lawsuits with the people’s courts against acts thatpollute the environment, cause ecological damage and harm public
interests:(1) Registered with the civil affairs department of the people’s
government at or above the level of city with districts in accordance withthe law; and(2) Engaging specially in the public service activities in environmental
protection for five consecutive years without any record of violation oflaws.
Where a social organization satisfying the provisions in the preceding
paragraph files a lawsuit with the people’s court, the people’s court shallaccept the lawsuit in accordance with the law.
The social organization that files a lawsuit shall not make use of thelawsuit to seek economic benefits.
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4. Problems of Public Participation in
Environmental Protection• 4.1 The compulsory provisions imposing on thegovernment and its departments in national laws
and regulations fall behind the new development
since the adoption of the Environmental Protection
Law in 2014
– The laws emphasize the obligations of enterprises
and the responsibilities of the government over theenvironmental rights and interests of citizens, and thelatter are embodied passively through providing theformer2015/3/9

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• There is a lack of specific and workable substantial andprocedural provisions, the public is incapable ofparticipating in accordance with the laws.
• “In accordance with the laws” could be interpreted
arbitrarily by the executive departments, and there islittle room for judicial review.

– In practice, the public participation on environmental
protection is strictly controlled by the ruling party andthe government

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• 4.2 The laws and regulations authorize theenvironmental
protection
department
many
obligations and responsibilities, while dealing little
with other departments in charge of the planningand examination and approval of major projects
involving environmental impact– The range of public participation is limited, only
confined to powers of environmental protection
department• Environmental issues are just the consequence caused by various
factors, but the participation from the very beginning is not enough,while the responsibilities of the departments are inconsistent.
Therefore, the public participation is just of no avail.
• Department regulations and local laws and regulations only stipulate
relevant decisions and the oversight over law enforcement byenvironmental departments, which are inconsistent with public
participation in the scope.
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– The information the public really concerned is notconsistent with what the government/department
investigate and establish• There is little information disclosure; however, there is lessinformation the public really concerned.
• The items relating to public environmental rights andinterests are not the object of EIA.

– The phenomenon of NIMBY is on the rise, while thegovernment's response is obviously insufficient

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• 4.3 The public participation is mechanical andsimplified, deceptive EIA phenomenon is involved,
and there is fraud in government and enterpriseenvironmental information– Few scientific and effective participation methods, few
selective methods to choose– The participants are artificially arranged, inadequacy
in interest representative– Serious fraud happened in EIA statement and otherdocuments– The disclosure of information by the government isinconsistent with the feelings of the public– Fraud in environment monitoring by enterprises
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• 4.4 There are still a lack of administrative relief andsecurity provisions– There are no specific ways for the public to report,
appeal and bring problems– Normal public gatherings and demonstrations are notapproved, thus leading to abnormal walk– Public-expressed dissatisfaction are treated roughly
and simply, and more serious political inclinationarises– Deficiencies in administrative litigation and the systemof environmental public interest litigation

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• 4.5 Referring to judicial protection, the local people’s
court refusing to accept the environmental public
interest litigation filed by citizens, the public or
environmental groups is still a major problem toguarantee public participation in environmental
protection.

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5. Conclusion• The Environmental Protection Law revised in 2014 has madegreat progress in the disclosure of environmental informationand public participation, which in general not only establishes
that the public has right to acquire environmental informationfrom the government and enterprises, to participate in thegovernment environmental administrative policy-making andsupervise the government and enterprises to comply withenvironmental laws, but also sets up the environmental public
interest litigation system.
• Due to China’s long-term lack of public participation on
cultural, political and legal basis, relying on the public
participation provisions in the environmental laws cannot
wholly guarantee the public environmental rights andinterests, which can only be achieved through acomprehensive legal system arrangement in the process ofthe political system reform.
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Thank You