Vindicating environmental public interests in China: A balanced approach to institutional interaction in public interest litigation system

Along with the adoption of environmental public interest litigation (EPIL) in China, the configuration among civil society, administrative, procuratorial and judicial powers is reshaped and transformed. With various actors brought to the public interest ground, the conventional role of governments as a public interest defender through law enforcement activities is distorted. This, on the one hand, spurs and supplements insufficient government enforcement of environmental law, and on the other hand poses the danger of supplanting government enforcement, crowding out statutory responsibilities for governments and eroding their discretion in selecting regulatory tools and administrative procedures. To reach a balance making no power excessively intruding the other and bring PIL’s potential into full play, realignment of their respective roles and functions in the enforcement system is imperative. Government enforcement should be strengthened and given priority in vindicating environmental public interests. Pre-conditions for filing different types of EPIL claims should be established and specified. To develop an internally coordinated EPIL system, the future reforms should be legally underpinned with the order of standing coordinated, concurrent claims screened, connection arrangements established and the usage of incidental litigation promoted.