In order to firmly establish and practice the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and implement the "Framework Agreement on Judicial Protection of Environmental Resources in the Border Courts of Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi Provinces" and the "Framework Agreement on Judicial Protection of Environmental Resources in the Hanjiang River Basin" signed in August this year on the establishment of a joint release mechanism for typical cases of regional environmental resources, Guangdong Meizhou Intermediate People's Court, Chaozhou Intermediate People's Court, Shantou Intermediate People's Court and Fujian Longyan Intermediate People's Court, The Ganzhou Intermediate People's Court of Jiangxi Province jointly released a typical case of ecological and environmental resource protection, giving full play to the advantages and characteristics of all parties, and jointly building a new pattern of environmental judicial protection of regional ecological co-construction, environmental co-protection, collaborative co-governance, and the integration of the bay into the sea, so as to ensure the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature with high-quality environmental resources trial services, and realize that the sky is bluer, the land is greener, and the water is clearer in the Hanjiang River basin and the border of the three provinces.
The 15 typical cases of ecological and environmental resources protection released this time include criminal, civil, administrative and public interest litigation and other different types of litigation, covering forest, land, ocean, river and other ecosystem elements, involving illegal mining, smuggling of solid waste, illegal occupation of agricultural land, illegal fishing of aquatic products, illegal excavation of ancient tombs, protection of revolutionary cultural relics, excessive discharge of wastewater and other aspects, fully demonstrating the vivid practice of the people's courts in giving full play to the function of adjudicating environmental resources and protecting the ecological environment with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law.
1. Resolutely crack down on the criminal act of smuggling "foreign garbage" -- the case of smuggling waste in Zeng Mouzhou
Basic facts of the case
From August 2012 to December 2015, the defendant Zeng Mouzhou purchased overseas waste plastics from the supplier Liang Mouyi (already sentenced) without the "Import License of the People's Republic of China for Restricted Imports of Solid Waste that Can Be Used as Raw Materials", and through Liang Mouyi, Liang Mouyi contacted a company in Foshan, which fraudulently imported waste plastics in the name of others to China in the form of "package certificate and tax", totaling 197 containers of 4,370.135 tons, and illegally made a profit of 230,000 yuan.
Adjudication Results
The Intermediate People's Court of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, held after trial that the defendant Zeng Mouzhou, in order to obtain illegal benefits, violated customs laws and regulations, and still transported overseas solid waste into the country knowing that he did not have a permit, and his conduct constituted the crime of smuggling waste. In view of the fact that they played a secondary or auxiliary role in the joint crime, were accomplices, and truthfully confessed the crime after being brought into the case, they are to be given a lighter punishment in accordance with law. Zeng Mouzhou was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison, suspended for three years, fined 100,000 yuan, and recovered illegal gains for the crime of smuggling waste.
Typical significance
The illegal entry of "foreign garbage" seriously endangers the safety of the national ecological environment and the safety of people's lives and health. According to the Announcement on Matters Concerning the Comprehensive Ban on the Import of Solid Waste, the import of solid waste in any way is prohibited from January 1, 2021, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will stop accepting and approving applications for import licenses for solid wastes that can be used as raw materials in the restricted import category. The people's courts have severely cracked down on the criminal act of smuggling waste in accordance with the law, and resolutely cut off the chain of interests in the smuggling of "foreign garbage", which is of positive significance for strengthening the national solid waste import management and preventing and controlling solid waste pollution.
2. Severely punish the gang of stealing and excavating ancient tombs - the case of Li Mourong and other 4 people stealing and excavating ancient tombs
Basic facts of the case
In October 2021, defendant Li Mourong invited defendant Yang Moucai and others to discuss a partnership to excavate the tomb of Wu Youyan in Dapu County, Meizhou City. On the evenings of October 16 and 17, defendant Li Mourong and four others carried tools to Wu Youyan's tomb to carry out illegal excavations. When the excavation reached a depth of several tens of centimeters, the ancient tomb collapsed, and the four people gave up the excavation and left after backfilling the soil. After identification, the ancient tomb of Wu and Yan is a tomb of the Ming Dynasty with a complete structure and a large scale, which is a county-level cultural relics protection unit and has important historical, artistic and scientific values.
Adjudication Results
After trial, the People's Court of Dapu County, Guangdong Province, held that the defendant Li Mourong and others had stolen and excavated ancient tombs with historical, artistic, and scientific value, and their actions constituted the crime of illegal excavation of ancient tombs. Based on the facts and circumstances of each defendant's crime, the degree of harm to society, and the expression of remorse, the defendant Li Mourong and others were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from one year and nine months to one year for the crime of stealing and excavating ancient tombs, and were fined 2,000 yuan, and jointly compensated 15,800 yuan for the economic losses of repairing the ancient tombs of Wu and Yan.
Typical significance
Ancient tombs are the carriers of historical civilization. The people's courts severely punish the crime of tomb robbery, play a warning and deterrent role in civil tomb robbery, and vigorously promote the integrated protection of historical and cultural heritage and natural and cultural resources. The people's courts persist in strictly determining the statutory range of punishment in accordance with law, resolutely and severely punishing tomb robbery, and at the same time emphasizing the use of restorative justice rules to promote the timely restoration of ancient tombs and the surrounding environment. The trial of this case in accordance with the law implemented the requirements of comprehensive accountability and coordination of criminal and civil liability, and demonstrated the judicial value orientation of promoting the integrated protection of historical and cultural heritage and the natural and human environment with the strictest system and the strictest rule of law.
3. Supporting the contract-issuing unit in recovering abandoned farmland -- an agricultural company v. Meizhou Pingyuan County Land Development and Consolidation Center and other land contracting and management rights contract disputes
Basic facts of the case
In 2003, the Land Consolidation Center of Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, leased 859.1 acres of cultivated land to Company A for contract planting, and then the company subcontracted all the cultivated land to Qiu. In 2015, Qiu subcontracted 600 acres of the contracted management rights to an agricultural company. In April 2022, due to the failure to plant, manage and maintain, abandon farmland and fail to pay land contract fees, the land consolidation center terminated the contract with Company A, and Company A and Qiu. An agricultural company then filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting that the termination of the contract between the land consolidation center and company A be invalid.
Adjudication Results
After trial, the People's Court of Pingyuan County, Guangdong Province, held that Qiu had subcontracted the land operation rights involved in the case again, and that an agricultural company had not replaced Qiu as the contract counterparty of Company A, and that it had no right to raise a defense against the Pingyuan County Land Consolidation Center and Company A in terminating the contract involved in the case. Because Company A was idle and barren cultivated land, the Land Consolidation Center had the right to terminate the contract and recover the right to contract and operate the land involved in the case in accordance with the law, and there was no possibility for Company A to continue to perform the contract with Qiu, so the court rejected the lawsuit. The Intermediate People's Court of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, upheld the original judgment in the second instance.
Typical significance
It is a basic national policy to cherish and rationally use land and to effectively protect cultivated land, and the contractor has the obligation to protect and rationally use the land in accordance with the purposes agreed in the contract. The trial of this case demonstrates the strict implementation of the cultivated land protection policy, resolutely curbing the phenomenon of abandonment of farmland, and using justice to help the land management department of Pingyuan County to achieve land use control, recover 600 mu of idle cultivated land in accordance with the law, keep the national red line of cultivated land, and revitalize land resources. The people's courts support the contract-issuing units in recovering idle and barren cultivated land in accordance with the law, promote the "non-agricultural" and "non-grain" management of cultivated land, and make every effort to protect the red line of national cultivated land.
4. Support administrative organs to deter excessive sewage discharge - Longyan Changting County Ecological Environment Bureau's application for compulsory enforcement of administrative punishment decision on excessive wastewater discharge
Basic facts of the case
On March 24, 2021, the Ecological Environment Bureau of Changting County, Longyan, conducted an on-site inspection of a breeding company in Changting County, located in Bohu Village, Hetian Town, Changting County, and found that the wastewater discharged from the total sewage outlet of its aquaculture wastewater exceeded the pollutant discharge standards stipulated by the state, of which the chemical oxygen demand exceeded the standard by 1.65 times, the ammonia nitrogen exceeded the standard by 10.08 times, and the total phosphorus exceeded the standard by 2.54 times. On August 20, 2021, the Ecological Environment Bureau of Changting County, Longyan, in accordance with Article 83 of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, made an administrative penalty decision of fining the aquaculture company 128125 yuan. On March 23, 2022, the Ecological Environment Bureau of Changting County, Longyan City, applied to the court for compulsory enforcement because the company failed to pay the fine within the statutory time limit and did not apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit against the administrative penalty decision within the statutory time limit.
Adjudication Results
After review, the People's Court of Changting County, Fujian Province held that the administrative punishment decision made by the Longyan Changting County Ecological Environment Bureau was legal and in accordance with legal procedures in terms of administrative subject, administrative authority, basis and basis for conduct. After receiving the administrative penalty decision, a breeding limited company in Changting County did not apply for administrative reconsideration or file an administrative lawsuit within the statutory time limit, nor did it perform the administrative penalty decision. The Longyan Changting County Ecological Environment Bureau applied to the court for compulsory enforcement 10 days after serving the reminder to the person subject to enforcement, which was in accordance with the law. In accordance with the provisions of Article 97 of the Administrative Litigation Law of the People's Republic of China, the court ruled to grant compulsory enforcement, and the case entered the compulsory enforcement procedure.
Typical significance
Sewage treatment is an important part of water pollution prevention and control. There are many tributaries of the Tingjiang River, and the water environment quality of the tributaries is directly related to the ecological environmental protection and high-quality development of the Tingjiang River Basin. On the one hand, it supervises the administrative organs to make administrative punishment decisions in accordance with the law, and on the other hand, it urges the enterprises that discharge sewage beyond the standard to strictly perform their relevant responsibilities and bear the legal consequences of the excess discharge in accordance with the law, so as to form a deterrent to the excessive discharge of sewage in the Tingjiang River Basin and realize the social effect of "closing a case and educating one".
5. Cracking down on illegal mining in the Tingjiang River Basin - Chen Mouchang and Chen Mouxi's illegal mining case
Basic facts of the case
On September 12, 2018, in order to hold the "Yinggongtai" folk customs activity, the defendant Chen Mouchang, without obtaining a mining license, organized a meeting of members of the villagers' committee, the leader of the villagers' group, and the villagers' representatives, and decided by voting to mine sand within the river channel where sand mining is prohibited in Nantang Village, Hetian, for the purpose of paving the village road. On November 29, 2018, defendant Chen Mouchang organized a meeting of members of the villagers' committee and village council, and decided that defendant Chen Mouxi would be specifically responsible for sand mining. From December 2 to 9, 2018, defendant Chen Mouxi arranged for personnel to use excavators to mine sand in the river between the upstream of Nantang Bridge and the highway bridge in Nantang Village, Hetian Town, Tingjiang River. After identification, a total of 2,700 cubic meters of sand and gravel mixture were excavated in Nantang Village, Hetian Town, and the value of the excavated sand and gravel mixture was 175,500 yuan. After the case was discovered, defendants Chen Mouchang and Chen Mouxi voluntarily surrendered to the Changting County Public Security Bureau. During the trial of the case, defendants Chen Mouchang and Chen Mouxi paid fines of 70,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan in advance, respectively.
Adjudication Results
The People's Court of Changting County, Longyan County, Fujian Province, held after trial that the defendant Chen, as the director of the Nantang Village Committee of Hetian Town, organized meetings of members of the villagers' committees, villagers' group leaders, and villagers' representatives for matters such as paving roads in the village, and decided to mine sand within the river channel where sand mining is prohibited in Nantang Village, Hetian Town, for the purpose of paving village roads, and to carry out illegal mining without obtaining a sand mining license, and the circumstances were serious. Defendant Chen Mouxi, as the person directly responsible, constituted the crime of illegal mining. Accordingly, the defendant Chen was sentenced to a fine of 70,000 yuan and a fine of 30,000 yuan for the crime of illegal mining.
Typical significance
This case is a criminal case caused by illegal sand mining in the inner river of the Tingjiang River Basin. In view of the fact that the two defendants pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, and had the circumstances of voluntarily surrendering and voluntarily paying the fine, and at the same time voluntarily promised to serve as a village-level cleaning volunteer under the "river chief system" within one year, to be responsible for the inspection of the river section of the river where the crime occurred, to stop the illegal acts in the river and to report to the relevant departments, and accordingly received a lighter criminal punishment. The court's trial of this case gave full play to the functional role of serving and ensuring the high-quality development of the Tingjiang River Basin and the trial of ecological environment resources, and played a good social role in promoting the realization of the "high value" of the ecological environment and the "high quality" of economic development in the Tingjiang River Basin.
VI. Punishment of the criminal act of polluting the environment in the Meijiang River system -- Chen Mouliang, Xiao Mouhui, and Cai Moushi polluting the environment
Basic facts of the case
On February 6, 2018, Xiao Mouzhong and Chen Mouliang partnered to establish a renewable resources Co., Ltd. in Longyan City. In February 2019, Chen Mouliang and Xiao Mouhui changed the production process approved by the original relevant departments without obtaining the relevant qualifications for the treatment of chromium-containing waste leather and without passing the relevant environmental impact assessment, organized workers to process the waste leather into industrial glue additives, and sold them at prices ranging from RMB 3,800 to RMB 4,800 per ton for profit. Cai Moushi is mainly responsible for equipment repair and helping to perform production and management affairs in the company. After being ordered by relevant departments to suspend business for rectification and administrative punishment, Chen Mouliang and Xiao Mouhui resumed production without improving environmental protection procedures, and were seized on June 8, 2021. After forensic identification, 60 samples taken from the stored leather waste and 20 samples of the production products were tested, and the leaching solution of all samples was detected to contain total chromium. According to the National Hazardous Waste List (2021 Edition), the chromium-containing waste and scrap generated during the tanning and cutting of leather and fur are hazardous wastes.
Adjudication Results
The People's Court of Wuping County, Fujian Province, held in the first instance that the defendants Chen Mouliang and Xiao Mouhui violated state regulations by organizing workers to illegally dispose of at least 5,900 tons of chromium-containing leather waste scraps (hazardous waste) for the purpose of illegal profit-making without obtaining a hazardous waste business license, seriously polluting the environment and with particularly serious consequences; Defendant Chen Mouliang was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment and fined 2 million yuan; defendant Xiao Mouhui was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined 2 million yuan for the crime of polluting the environment; defendant Cai Moushi was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment, suspended for four years, and fined 150,000 yuan. The Intermediate People's Court of Longyan City, Fujian Province, rejected the appeal in the second instance and upheld the original judgment.
Typical significance
The southern half of Wuping County, which is bounded by Liangye Mountain, basically belongs to the catchment range of the Meijiang River system. In this case, in order to obtain greater benefits, the parties disposed of waste leather containing chromium without the approval of the relevant departments, which could easily cause serious air, water and soil pollution. Chromium is easily absorbed by the human body, and can invade the human body through the respiratory tract, skin and mucous membranes, which seriously endangers human health, so the state strictly controls hazardous wastes such as chromium-containing leather waste. In this case, the disposal of hazardous waste by the parties failed to pass the assessment of the relevant departments, which could easily cause the risk of water and soil infiltration pollution, and the court dealt with it in a timely manner, which helped to achieve the effect of "handling one case and treating one piece".
7. Establish an ecological restoration model of "replanting order + judicial recommendation" - the case of illegal occupation of agricultural land by Zhang Mousong and 5 others
Basic facts of the case
In March 2020, without the approval of the competent authorities, the defendant Zhang Mousong and five others hired others to use hook machines, forklifts, etc. to open roads and level forest land in a mountain farm in Longnan City, in preparation for the construction of a pig farm. In April 2020, the staff of the Longnan Forestry Bureau went to the scene to stop the defendant's illegal occupation of forest land and issued a "Notice of Ordering the Restoration of Forest Land for Rectification within a Time Limit". The defendant did not rectify the situation, continued to level the forest land, and built a private house. In November 2020, the Longnan Forestry Bureau found that the defendant had partnered to build a pig farm in the mountain farm. After appraisal, the defendant illegally occupied a total area of 11.61 acres of forest land.
Adjudication Results
After trial, the People's Court of Longnan City, Jiangxi Province, held that the five defendants violated land management laws and regulations by illegally occupying 11.61 mu of forest land, changing the use of land, and causing a large amount of damage to forest land, and their actions constituted the crime of illegally occupying agricultural land. In view of the fact that the five defendants had voluntarily surrendered, were first-time offenders or occasional offenders, the circumstances of the crime were relatively minor, and they showed remorse for paying the fines in advance, combined with the pre-sentencing social investigation, the application of suspended sentences to the five defendants did not have a major adverse impact on the communities in which they lived, and the defendants pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, and decided to apply suspended sentences to the above five defendants. The five defendants were convicted of illegally occupying agricultural land and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of one year and six months to one year, suspended sentences of two years to one year and six months, and fined 30,000 to 20,000 yuan. At the same time as the first-instance judgment was pronounced, an ecological restoration and replanting order was issued to the five defendants, and a judicial recommendation was issued to the local town government, recommending that the houses built by the defendants illegally occupying agricultural land should be demolished.
Typical significance
This case actively explored the diversified ecological restoration model of "ecological restoration and replanting order + judicial recommendation", and issued the first ecological restoration and replanting order and judicial recommendation for environmental restoration by the Ganzhou court. During the on-site visit, the presiding judge learned that the practice of occupying forest land to build pig farms in the defendant's township was prevalent, and how to make the defendant punish and educate other people at the same time and restore the destroyed forest land was the focus of this case. While sentencing the defendant to criminal punishment, the court urged the defendant to carry out replanting and replanting, and promoted the planting of green plants on all occupied agricultural land; issued an order for ecological restoration and replanting, urging him to continue to fulfill his obligations of ecological restoration; and issued a judicial recommendation to urge the demolition of houses illegally occupying agricultural land, so as to restore the ecology to the greatest extent, and achieved the "win-win" effect of punishment, education, and ecological restoration.
VIII. Providing Strong Judicial Safeguards for the Protection of Revolutionary Cultural Relics -- Liu Mouqing et al. v. Ruijin Central Revolutionary Base Memorial Hall Property Rights Dispute
Basic facts of the case
In February 1929, the main force of the Red Fourth Army ambushed the invading Kuomintang army in Dabaidi, the battle was very fierce, leaving many bullet holes in the wall in front of the village. During the period of land reform, the Ruijin County Government distributed the two houses and other properties of the "Bullet Cave Front Village Wall" at the site of the Dabaidi Battle Battlefield of the Red Fourth Army to Liu Mouren, Liu Mouqing, Liu Mouzhen (Cutting Heke), Liu Mouhua (Liu Moudi), and Ma Moulian, and issued the "Land and Real Estate Ownership Certificate" on March 10, 1953. After that, Liu Mouren handed over the two rooms of the "bullet hole" to his brother Liu Moupan to live in. In 1969, the Ruijin Central Revolutionary Base Memorial Hall took over the two rooms of the "bullet hole" from Liu Moupan and carried out partial repairs. On April 15, 2007, the inscription of "Introduction to the Dabai Di Battle Battlefield Site of the Red Fourth Army" stated that the site was originally "Liu Moupan's private residence". Liu Mouqing, Liu Mouzhen, Liu Mouxu, and Liu Mouhua are the children of Liu Mouren and Ma Moulian, and after knowing the content of the inscription, they filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting an order to change the Liu Moupan in the inscription to Liu Mouren, Liu Mouqing, Cutting Heke, Liu Moudi, and Ma Moulian.
Adjudication Results
The People's Court of Ruijin City, Jiangxi Province held that the "bullet hole" two houses were allocated by the government during the land reform period to Liu Mouren, Liu Mouqing, Liu Mouzhen (cutting Heke), Liu Mouhua (Liu Moudi), and Ma Moulian, and did not change the registration after handling the "Land and Real Estate Ownership Certificate". The site of the Dabaidi battle battlefield of the Red Fourth Army is a national key cultural relics protection unit, and the two rooms of the "bullet hole" in the site belong to the cultural relics under national key protection, and no one is allowed to damage them. The cultural relics protection unit should properly manage it, and the inscription brief description of the site was originally "Liu Moupan's private residence" is indeed wrong and should be corrected. In accordance with the law, it was decided that the memorial hall of the Ruijin Central Revolutionary Base changed the name of "Liu Moupan" in the inscription "Introduction to the Dabaidi Battle Battlefield Site of the Red Fourth Army" in front of the "bullet hole" to "Liu Mouren, Liu Mouqing, Cheheke, Liu Moudi, and Ma Moulian".
Typical significance
This case is a civil case arising from a dispute over the property rights of revolutionary cultural relics. Revolutionary cultural relics carry the glorious history of the heroic struggle of the people led by the party, record the great course of the Chinese revolution and touching deeds, and protect and make good use of the revolutionary cultural relics, which is of great significance to carry forward the revolutionary culture and inherit the red gene. This case is a vivid exploration of the people's court to provide a strong judicial guarantee for the protection of revolutionary cultural relics, and has accumulated useful experience for enriching and improving the rules for judicial adjudication of cultural relics, and has publicity and education significance for guiding the public to comprehensively and correctly establish the concept of cultural relics protection, and urging cultural relics protection units to enhance their sense of responsibility for respecting history and paying attention to details.
9. "Green Principles" to Protect the Urban Ecological Environment -- A Case of Contract Dispute between a Garden Company and a County Urban Management Bureau
Basic facts of the case
On May 10, 2009, a county urban management bureau and a garden company signed the "Administrative Center Greening Planting Agreement", which respectively agreed on rent, income, investment and other contents. On May 2, 2017, the two sides counted and checked 126 large-leaved ficus trees and 13 oak bud red trees on Pterodactyl Road and signed for confirmation. On August 20, 2021, a county urban management bureau issued a "Request for Consent to the Acquisition of Street Trees on Wing Long Road" to the county government, stating that the price of the street tree seedlings involved in the case was 757,040 yuan after inquiry, and the two parties planned to purchase the 139 street trees involved in the case for 400,000 yuan after several negotiations. Later, because the county government did not agree to buy at this price, a garden company sued the court, demanding that the county urban management bureau pay a garden company 757,040 yuan for the seedling (street tree) project and a late payment penalty of 140872 yuan, totaling 897912 yuan.
Adjudication Results
The effective judgment of the Intermediate People's Court of Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province held that although the two parties did not clearly stipulate in the agreement that the county urban management bureau must repurchase the seedlings involved in the case, and the two parties did not reach an agreement on the repurchase price, the county urban management bureau carried out a series of behaviors such as inventory, acceptance, inquiry and valuation of the street trees involved in the case, and negotiated the purchase price with a certain garden company many times, which made the garden company have a reasonable trust in the repurchase of the seedlings by the county urban management bureau, so that the street trees involved in the case were retained to this day, and a good time for transplantation was missed. It was decided that 50% of the inquiry price should be used as the purchase price, and the county urban management bureau was ordered to pay 378,520 yuan for seedlings to a garden company.
Typical significance
This case is a typical case in which the court applied the "green principle" stipulated in Article 9 of the Civil Code to protect the urban ecological environment. Street trees connect the "point" and "surface" green spaces in the city in the form of "lines", and assume the function of green corridors. The judgment of this case not only effectively protects the legitimate rights and interests of the garden company, but also has a good exemplary role in building a fair, transparent and predictable business environment based on the rule of law, and also effectively avoids the waste of natural resources and the destruction of the ecological environment, highlighting the concept of green adjudication in judicial trials, and realizing the organic unity of the "three effects".
10. Negotiation + Judicial Confirmation Model for Compensation for Ecological and Environmental Damages - Shantou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment and Zhuang Moupan's application for judicial confirmation of the negotiation agreement on compensation for ecological and environmental damages
Basic facts of the case
Zhuang Moupan has illegally discharged electroplating wastewater without any environmental protection facilities into the external environment for a long time, causing pollution to the water body. Due to the failure to timely monitor the quality of the surrounding water bodies during the illegal discharge, and the fact that wastewater pollutants are easy to migrate and dilute with the flow of water, it is difficult to trace the damage caused to the environmental quality of the water bodies where the illegal discharge occurred. However, from the on-site investigation and handling, combined with the monitoring report, Zhuang's illegal direct discharge of pH value, total chromium, hexavalent chromium, total copper, total zinc, total lead, and total nickel in untreated electric water far exceeded the emission standard limits. Since the plant is not equipped with any environmental protection facilities, the fact that it discharges heavy pollutants exists, and the damage caused to the environment is certain. After consultation, the Shantou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment and Zhuang Moupan reached an agreement and signed a consultation agreement, stipulating that Zhuang Moupan would pay a one-time compensation of 30,874.5 yuan for ecological and environmental damage to the Shantou Municipal People's Government, the right holder of compensation. After that, the two parties jointly applied to the court for judicial confirmation.
Adjudication Results
The Intermediate People's Court of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, held that the negotiation agreement reached by the applicant met the statutory requirements for judicial confirmation of the mediation agreement. In accordance with the provisions of Article 195 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, it is ruled that the consultation agreement on compensation for ecological and environmental damage reached by the applicant Shantou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment and the applicant Zhuang Moupan on September 8, 2022 is valid, and the parties shall consciously perform their obligations in accordance with the provisions of the consultation agreement.
Typical significance
This case is a typical case in which a negotiation case on compensation for ecological and environmental damage has been judicially confirmed. This case expands the judicial path for the perpetrator of ecological environmental damage to bear the responsibility for ecological environmental damage, embodies the environmental justice concept of giving priority to ecology and focusing on restoration, and is also a specific practice of Shantou City to implement the compensation system for ecological environmental damage, and is a useful exploration for the reform of the compensation system for ecological environmental damage in accordance with laws and regulations, providing practical experience for the judicial confirmation of the consultation agreement on compensation for ecological environmental damage in the future, and has strong reference significance for the compensation of ecological damage.
11. Promote the "leniency for compensation" system - Chen Mouxiao's case of civil public interest litigation attached to the criminal case of illegal fishing of aquatic products
Basic facts of the case
At 10:45 on April 12, 2021, the defendant Chen Mouxiao and other co-defendants drove the boat "Yuechao Nanyu 11039" to conduct illegal fishing operations in the waters near the Nanpeng Islands in Guangdong Province, and were seized by law enforcement officers of the Longhu Workstation of the Shantou Coast Guard Bureau, and 313 kilograms of fish and a batch of fishing gear were seized at the scene. After identification, the fishing gear used by the "Yuechao Nanyu 11039" vessel belongs to the "single boat (bottom) truss trawl", which is listed as "transitional fishing gear" in the notice of the Ministry of Agriculture on the implementation of the minimum mesh system for marine fishing and transitional fishing gear, and the minimum mesh size of the fishing gear has not yet reached the minimum mesh size stipulated by the state, and the fishing method used belongs to electric fishing operations. It was also ascertained that the sea area where the vessel "Yuechao Nanyu 11039" was seized was within the line of the bottom trawling fishing prohibition zone for motorized fishing vessels in the South China Sea. After mediation presided over by the Nanao Court, the Nanao County People's Procuratorate and Chen Mouxiao reached a mediation agreement, and Chen Mouxiao paid a total of 82,550 yuan to the Nanao County People's Procuratorate for ecological environment restoration fees and assessment fees, and publicly apologized in the news media at or above the Shantou municipal level.
Adjudication Results
The People's Court of Nanao County, Guangdong Province, held through trial that the facts of the defendant Chen Mouxiao's illegal fishing of aquatic products were clear and the evidence was sufficient, and that the crime of illegal fishing of aquatic products constituted the crime of illegal fishing, and sentenced him to eight months' imprisonment with a one-year probation; a batch of fishing gear, which was used to commit the crime, was to be confiscated and disposed of by the seizing organ in accordance with the law; and the value of 1,850 yuan of illegally obtained fish was confiscated and handed over to the state treasury by the seizing organ in accordance with law.
Typical significance
In recent years, the Shantou court has made useful explorations on the system of "leniency for compensation" for defendants in civil litigation attached to environmental resources crimes. This case is the first civil public interest litigation case in South Australia to be concluded through mediation, and it is also an effective practice of exploring the system of "leniency for compensation" for defendants in civil litigation attached to environmental resources crimes. By actively fulfilling the obligation of compensation and restoration, the defendant strives for lenient criminal punishment, effectively punishes the crime while restoring the ecological environment to the greatest extent, and better applies the concept of restorative justice to the trial of environmental resources, so as to achieve a win-win situation of cracking down on environmental resource crimes and ecological environment restoration.
12. "Labor Compensation" Helps Ecological Restoration: Shantou Municipal Procuratorate v. Shantou City, a civil public interest lawsuit for compensation for ecological and environmental damage to a hardware factory in Chenghai District, Shantou City
Basic facts of the case
Zeng Mouwu, the operator of a hardware factory in Chenghai District, Shantou City, for illegal profit-making, without the permission of the administrative department, purchased galvanizing, nickel plating and other electroplating production line related supporting facilities, hired workers to engage in illegal electroplating iron business, and the wastewater generated by electroplating was discharged to the sewage pipe buried in the ground on the southwest side of the workshop without any treatment, and then directly discharged to the sewer pipe outside the factory through the southwest discharge port outside the workshop, and then merged into the urban interception canal after passing through the branch canal of Chengjiang Road, Chenghai District. The People's Procuratorate of Shantou City, Guangdong Province, filed a civil public interest lawsuit with the Shantou Intermediate People's Court according to the appraised price, requesting the hardware factory to compensate for the loss of the ecological environment of 216,064.8 yuan, bear the assessment cost of 36,000 yuan, and apologize to the public in the news media at or above the municipal level.
Adjudication Results
Before the trial of the case, a hardware factory in Chenghai District, Shantou City, admitted the tort of environmental damage caused by its illegal sewage discharge, but had no ability to repay, and the Shantou Intermediate People's Court initiated judicial mediation ex officio to facilitate the two parties to reach a mediation agreement to fulfill the obligation of compensation for ecological and environmental damage in the form of labor compensation, and the hardware factory operator provided public welfare labor to clean up farmland irrigation ditches to repay the compensation for ecological and environmental damage.
Typical significance
This case is an alternative ecological restoration case of "labor compensation". The people's court not only supported the labor compensation request of a hardware factory in Chenghai District, Shantou City in accordance with the law and helped it realize the role change from "destroyer" to "guardian", but also designated the river chief in the mediation agreement to supervise and guide the ditch cleaning work, clarified the supervision and acceptance responsibilities of the ecological environment department and the neighborhood committee and the supervision rules for the implementation of labor compensation, and solidly promoted the alternative restoration of ecological and environmental damage compensation from the system to practice.
XIII. Cracking down on acts that damage the ecological environment of the Hanjiang River Basin -- Case of illegal mining by Li Mouzhi and 14 others, and Wang Mouhao's concealment of criminal proceeds
Basic facts of the case
Defendants Li Mouzhi and Wu Mouxian, as the main offenders, jointly participated in the illegal mining of river sand totaling 37,406.69 cubic meters, and the other defendants, as accomplices, also participated in the illegal mining of river sand. Defendant Wang Mouhao knew that the Luzhu Sand Farm had illegally mined Hanjiang River sand and sold it to the outside world, but still made illegal profits, and purchased a total of 26,434.32 cubic meters of river sand from the Luzhu Sand Field several times from March 2021 to July 2021, of which a total of 3,896.32 cubic meters of river sand was illegally mined by the defendant Li Mouzhi and his gang.
Adjudication Results
The Intermediate People's Court of Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, held after trial that the defendant Li Mouzhi and 14 others violated the provisions of the Mineral Resources Law by mining without obtaining a mining license, and the circumstances were particularly serious, and their acts constituted the crime of illegal mining, and should be punished in accordance with law. Defendant Wang Mouhao clearly knew that the operators of the Luzhu Sand Farm had carried out illegal mining activities, but still purchased illegally mined river sand for illegal profits, the circumstances were serious, and the order of social management was obstructed, and his conduct constituted the crime of concealing criminal proceeds, and should be punished in accordance with law. Defendant Li Mouzhi and 14 others were convicted of the crime of illegal mining and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from three years, nine months to 10 months, and a fine, with the corresponding illegal gains to be recovered, and relevant property confiscated;
Typical significance
The Hanjiang River is the mother river in eastern Guangdong and one of the top ten most beautiful hometown rivers in the country, providing a high-quality drinking water source for the high-quality development of Chaozhou. Illegal mining of river sand not only destroys the mineral resources and ecological environment of the Hanjiang River, but also affects the stability of the water potential, flood control and navigation safety of the Hanjiang River, which is seriously harmful. This case demonstrates the determination of the Chaozhou court to actively perform its duties in accordance with the law, strengthen coordination and cooperation, punish crimes that damage ecological resources and the environment in accordance with the law, and effectively escort lucid waters and lush mountains with justice. The case was also reported by the People's Court Daily, Chaozhou TV and Chaozhou Daily.
XIV. "Wildlife Protection Order" Protects the Ecological Environment -- Liu Moushan's Case of Dangerous and Endangered Wild Animals and Illegal Hunting Attached to Civil Public Interest Litigation
Basic facts of the case
During October 2021, in order to make a profit, the defendant Liu Moushan set up a sticky net (bird trapping net) by his fish pond, illegally hunted a goshawk, and hid it at home to wait for an opportunity to sell. After identification, the goshawk is a terrestrial wild animal under national second-class key protection, worth 25,000 yuan. Between October and November 2021, in order to make a profit, Liu Moushan set up sticky nets (bird nets) next to his fish pond to illegally hunt 100 birds, including mountain turtle doves, gray turtle doves, and long-tailed nightjars, and hid them at home to wait for an opportunity to sell. After identification, 100 birds, including mountain turtle dove, gray turtle dove, and long-tailed nightjar, belong to the national "three haves" terrestrial wild animals, worth 33,300 yuan. The Raoping County People's Procuratorate filed an attached civil public interest lawsuit at the same time as the public prosecution, requesting that Liu Moushan be ordered to compensate for the ecological damage caused by illegal hunting of wild animals totaling 58,300 yuan.
Adjudication Results
The People's Court of Raoping County, Guangdong Province, held after trial that the defendant Liu Moushan had ignored national law and illegally hunted rare and endangered wild animals under key state protection, with a value of between 20,000 and 200,000 yuan; In accordance with the law, Liu Moushan was sentenced to seven months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined 5,000 yuan for the crimes of endangering precious and endangered wild animals and illegal hunting, and compensated 58,300 yuan for the loss of ecological and environmental resources. In accordance with the provisions of Article 5, Paragraph 2 and Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the "Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", the "Wildlife Protection Order" was issued, ordering the defendant to set up a publicity board for the protection of wild animals near Xiao Cuo Basket, Chaoliu Village, Lianrao Town, Raoping County, at least once a day, and patrol for no less than half an hour.
Typical significance
This case is the first public interest litigation case with criminal attachment to be heard in public on the first ecological day in the country, and the verdict is pronounced in court. The first is to form a good social warning effect, and promote the protection of wild animals by sentencing the perpetrators to bear criminal responsibility in accordance with the law, ordering compensation for the damage to wildlife resources, and making joint efforts to crack down on criminal crimes and public interest litigation; The second is to form a good comprehensive management effect, and the province's first "Wildlife Protection Order" issued to the parties in this case in court gives full play to the guidance, education, and punishment functions of the judiciary, and uses the judiciary to protect the ecological environment.
15. Supporting the "Three Simultaneous" System of Environmental Protection -- A Shoe Company and Its Responsible Person Sued the Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment for a Fine
Basic facts of the case
Mr. Ding is the legal representative of a shoe company. During the on-site inspection, the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province found that the company did not have exhaust gas treatment facilities during production and operation, and the workshop had obvious pungent odors. After the case was filed, the bureau made two administrative penalties of a fine of 75,000 yuan for Ding and a fine of 325,000 yuan for the company after investigation, hearing and other procedures. A shoe company and Ding were both dissatisfied and filed lawsuits with the court respectively.
Adjudication Results
The Intermediate People's Court of Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, held that the construction project involved in the case of a footwear company belonged to the category of projects for which an environmental impact report should be prepared, and it should be put into production or use only after the experience of supporting environmental protection facilities was qualified. In this case, during the on-site inspection by the Chaozhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment, it was found that the construction project involved in the case was under construction, but the construction of the supporting waste gas treatment facilities had not yet begun, which violated the provisions of Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Regulations on the Administration of Environmental Protection of Construction Projects, and imposed penalties within the statutory range on a footwear company and the person in charge who was directly responsible. The Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment made the two "Administrative Penalty Decisions" involved in the case with clear facts, sufficient evidence, legal procedures, and appropriate discretion, and the court rejected the litigation requests of a shoe company and Ding to revoke the two penalty decisions in accordance with the law. The court of second instance rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
Typical significance
The supporting environmental protection facilities required by the construction project must be designed, constructed and put into operation at the same time as the main project, that is, the "three simultaneous" system of environmental protection, which aims to give the production enterprise the responsibility to prevent environmental pollution, rather than the responsibility of pollution control after the actual pollution occurs. The "double penalty system" in administrative law is a legal liability system for units or organizations that violate the law, not only imposing administrative penalties on the units in accordance with the law, but also imposing administrative penalties on the responsible managers and other directly responsible persons of the units in accordance with the law. The actual implementation of the "double penalty system" for ecological and environmental administration is to assign responsibility to people and realize the unity of responsibility, power and profit, which is conducive to optimizing the business environment under the rule of law and maintaining the ecological environment.
Southern + reporter Chen Zeming
Correspondent: Mei Faxuan
【Author】 Chen Zeming
[Source] Southern Press Media Group Southern + client
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