Standing of Environmental Public-Interest Litigants in China: Evolution, Obstacles and Solutions

This article studies the standing of environmental public-interest litigants in China. It first analyses the evolution and current status of the standing requirements. The article, then, examines major obstacles that exist in the current standing requirements from the perspective of different types of actors, including social organisations, environmental administrative organs and procuratorial organs. The corresponding solutions to the aforementioned obstacles are also explored. It is proposed that expansion of standing and the improvement of support mechanisms are two measures which might overcome the existing hurdles in environmental public-interest litigation in China. The standing of social organisations and environmental administrative organs should be further liberalised. The legal status of procuratorial organs is to be clarified. Granting individuals the standing to sue is also worth considering in the future. In addition, incentive mechanisms including reducing the financial and proof burden of the plaintiff and expanding its financial resources should be further explored to motivate disadvantaged plaintiffs, while the ‘losers pay principle’ and pre-trial notification procedure should be used as mechanisms to remove vexatious lawsuits.