Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 25 (Reporter Luosha) The Supreme People's Court issued a white paper on the "Status of Judicial Protection of the Ecological Environment in the Yangtze River Basin" on the 25th. This is the first white paper on judicial protection of the river basin in my country.

  The white paper shows that since January 2016, the people’s courts at all levels in the Yangtze River Basin have implemented the strictest system and strictest rule of law requirements, trialing 80,356 criminal cases of various environmental resources, 287119 civil cases, 122215 administrative cases, and public interest litigation cases. 4944 cases and 91 cases of compensation for ecological damage.

  According to Tao Kaiyuan, Vice President of the Supreme Court, the People's Court hears cases of water pollution prevention and control, water ecological protection, and water resources development and utilization in accordance with the law, and strives to defend the clear water.

Hearing air pollution, soil pollution, forest and grassland resource protection cases in accordance with the law, and realize the integrated protection of all elements of landscape, forest, field, lake and grass.

Trial cases involving the protection of ecosystems in key areas such as national parks, nature reserves, lake reservoir areas, and river and lake shorelines in accordance with the law, so as to achieve the unification of ecological, economic and social benefits, so that the Mother River will remain vigorous forever.

  The white paper also shows that the people's courts continue to promote the establishment of specialized environmental judicial institutions and centralized trial mechanisms.

As of June 2020, people's courts at all levels in the Yangtze River Basin have established 483 environmental resource courts, 468 collegiate panels (teams), and 252 people's courts (circuit courts) in accordance with local conditions, achieving full coverage of key areas in the river basin.

Of the 19 higher people’s courts in the Yangtze River Basin, 17 have adopted the “two-in-one” or “three-in-one” centralized trial model for criminal, civil, and administrative cases of environmental resources.

  "Deepen theoretical research on environmental justice, actively explore ways of adjudication execution that conform to the characteristics of the basin's ecological environment and environmental justice laws, and focus on the role of prohibition orders to meet the restoration needs of different environmental elements." Tao Kaiyuan said that the people's courts will give full play to the role of adjudication , Strengthen the judicial protection of the ecological environment, and provide more powerful judicial services and guarantees for the construction of ecological civilization and green development in the Yangtze River Basin.

  The Supreme Law also issued 10 typical cases of judicial protection of the water ecology in the Yangtze River Basin, including 2 criminal cases, 6 criminal cases with civil public interest litigation, and environmental civil public interest litigation and ecological environmental damage compensation litigation filed separately from criminal public prosecutions 1 case for each case, to promote the work of prohibiting arrests in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin in accordance with the law, and protect the water ecological safety of the Yangtze River Basin.