Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 11 (Reporters Luo Sha, Liu Shuo) The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued regulations on several issues in handling marine natural resources and ecological environment public interest litigation cases on the 11th, giving full play to the marine environment supervision and management departments, The different functions and roles of the people's procuratorate in marine environmental public interest litigation have established a relatively complete and independent marine environmental public interest litigation system with Chinese characteristics.
It is reported that this judicial interpretation clarifies the maritime court's special jurisdiction over civil public interest litigation and administrative public interest litigation on marine natural resources and the ecological environment, giving full play to the maritime court's advantages in specialized adjudication, ensuring the quality of adjudication, and unifying adjudication standards.
At the same time, the advantages of maritime courts across administrative divisions are used to overcome local protectionism.
The judicial interpretation clearly stipulates that when the people's procuratorate discovers acts that damage marine ecology, marine aquatic resources, and marine protected areas in the performance of its duties, it may notify the department exercising the right to supervise and manage the marine environment to file a lawsuit.
Under the circumstance that the relevant departments still do not file a lawsuit, if the people's procuratorate files a civil public interest lawsuit with the maritime court with jurisdiction over the damage to marine natural resources and ecological environment, the maritime court shall accept it.
Where the people's procuratorate discovers in the performance of its duties that the department responsible for the supervision and management of acts that damage marine ecology, marine aquatic resources, or marine protected areas has illegally exercised its functions and powers or failed to act, resulting in infringement of national interests or public interests, it shall report to the relevant departments. Put forward procuratorial suggestions and urge them to perform their duties in accordance with the law.
Where relevant departments fail to perform their duties in accordance with the law, the people's procuratorate shall file an administrative public interest lawsuit in accordance with the law to the maritime court where the administrative organ being sued is located.
The Judicial Interpretation also stipulates that if the marine ecology, marine aquatic resources, and marine protected areas are damaged, and if a crime is suspected, the people's procuratorate may file a lawsuit for compensation for damages to marine natural resources and ecological environment if the department exercising the right to supervise and manage the marine environment does not file a separate lawsuit for damages to the marine natural resources and the ecological environment. An incidental civil public interest lawsuit may be filed together with a criminal public prosecution, or a civil public interest lawsuit may be filed separately.