The first case in the country!Chemical enterprises illegally dump the hazardous waste liquid to cause environmental pollution, prosecutors have proposed three times punitive compensation

On September 26, Red Star Journalists learned from the highest seminar that recently, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued a 40 -batch of guidance cases based on the theme of ecological and environmental public interest lawsuits.

Red Star reporters noticed that in this batch of guiding cases, a procuratorial organs filed a civil public interest lawsuit requested by polluting enterprises for punitive compensation claims.

From March 3rd to July 31st, 2018, A Chemical Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as A Company A) in Zhejiang produced sodium nitride distillation system equipment was damaged, resulting in a large amount of sodium sulfate waste liquid cannot be treated normally. Wu Moujia, manager of the company's production department, agreed to instructed the legal representative of the company to deal with sodium sulfate waste liquid. During the disposal, Company A reimbursed two fees for Wu Moujia. Wu Moujia handed the sodium sulfate waste liquid to Wu Mouyi with the qualifications of hazardous waste disposal.

Wu Mouyi hired Li Moumou to be transported by Fan Moumou, Dong Moumou, and Zhou Moumou, and illegally dumped 30 vehicles in the two plots of two plots of two plots in Bayijing and Xianghu Town Dongkou Village, Shou'an Town, Jiangxi Province. The tons of sodium sulfate waste liquid caused soil and surface water and groundwater in the surrounding area of ​​8.08 acres. The local 3.6 kilometers of river channels and 6.6 square kilometers of the watershed environment was affected, causing more than 1,000 people to drink water and use water difficulties. After identification, the total cost of repairing the two plots was 2168,000 yuan, and the cost of environmental functional loss was 57135.45 yuan.

In the end, Wu Moujia and other six people were sentenced to corresponding imprisonment for pollution.

After the end of the criminal case, in November 2020, the People's Procuratorate of Futiang County (hereinafter referred to as Fusiang County Court) in Jiangxi Province filed a civil public interest lawsuit as the defendant A, and asked the court to order the defendant to bear the pollution reimbursement fee of 2168,000 yuan and the environment. Functional losses were 57135.45 yuan, emergency disposal fee of 532860.11 yuan, test fee, and appraisal fee of 95,670 yuan, totaling 2853665.56 yuan, and apologized to the public in the public in the national news media.

According to the review of the Fuliang County Court, the staff of Company A handed over the company's sodium sulfate waste liquid to personal treatment of the qualifications of non -dangerous waste disposal, and illegally dumped in Fuliang County, resulting in serious pollution of local water and soil and other ecological environment. , Harm public interests.

"During the trial of the case, the" People's Republic of China "was officially implemented on January 1, 2021. Although the case involved in pollution environment and the ecological infringement occurred before the implementation of the" Civil Code ", the infringer did not take validity. The measures to repair the ecological environment, the continuous damage to the ecological environment, and seriously damage the public interests of the society. Several provisions of Article 2 stipulates that the CCP cases caused by the legal facts caused by the "civil code to the implementation of the Civil Code. Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of civil subjects is more conducive to maintaining social and economic order, and more conducive to promoting the core values ​​of socialism ''. "

The Flying Liang County Court believes that Wu Moujia, the manager of the production department of Company A, was authorized by the legal representative to deal with the waste liquid. The company also reimbursed the relevant costs incurred twice. Company A shall bear the liability for infringement of pollution environment.

The Fuguliang County Court pointed out that due to the serious consequences of the company's staff intentionally polluted the environment, in order to more powerful and effectively protect the public interests of the society, according to Article 1,232 of the Civil Code, Company A should except in addition to In addition to the infringement liability for environmental pollution losses and apology, punitive compensation shall be also shared.

On January 3, 2021, the Fuliang County Court changed the request for lawsuits in accordance with the law to increase the litigation request based on the original litigation request, requiring Company A to bear the environmental functional loss fee of three times the environmental infringement punitive compensation of 171406.35 yuan.

On January 4, 2021, the People's Court of Fusiang County publicly tried this case and made a court judgment in accordance with the law to support the procuratorial organs' requests.

In response to the guiding significance of this case, the highest prosecution pointed out that when the procuratorial organs filed an environmental civil public interest lawsuit, if the infringer violated the law of intentional pollution of the environment and damaged the ecology and the public interest, the consequences of it. Corresponding punitive compensation liability; the amount of punitive compensation can be based on the amount of ecological environmental functional losses, and the specific situation of the comprehensive cases can be determined.

Hu Weili, the director of the 8th Procuratorate of the Supreme Prosecutor, also said that the 40 -batch of guidance cases answered that the ecological environmental damage has the characteristics of cumulative, incubation, slowness, publicity, etc. Low problems are prominent. The punitive compensation system stipulated in the Civil Code can increase the cost of environmental violations in accordance with the law, severely punish the environmental violations, and allow malicious infringers to pay a price, with multiple functions such as punishment, deterrence, and prevention.

"At the beginning of the implementation of the Civil Code, there were some controversy on whether the procuratorial organs could propose punitive compensation in civil public interest litigation cases. The procuratorial organs of Jiangxi Province boldly explored in practice and filed a lawsuit request for punitive compensation in environmental civil public interest lawsuits. And support from the people's court, this case is the first country in the country to apply for the Civil Policy pollution civil interest lawsuit that is applicable to the Civil Code of Punishment, and has been selected as the first typical cases of the People's Court issued by the Supreme People's Court to implement the Civil Code. " Hu Weilie introduced. Hu Weilie also pointed out that in the civil public interest lawsuit in the ecological environment, the procuratorial organs must not only make punitive compensation requests in accordance with the law to allow the offenders to be punished by the due punishment. Behavior; also strictly grasp the statutory and applicable conditions, protect the legitimate rights and interests of civil subjects in accordance with the law, and coordinate ecological environmental protection and economic and social development. To grasp the applicable conditions in accordance with the relevant provisions of the law and judicial interpretation, and according to the case conditions, we must comprehensively consider the subjective fault, the consequences of damage, and the ability to compensate for the infringer. The functions of punishment and deterrence of the system are only inferior to the responsibility of the illegal actor.

Red Star News reporter Wang Jianqiang

Edit Yu Dongmei Wang He

- END -