Green groups say law change paralyses them
A proposed amendment to environmental law would effectively bar activist NGOs from pursuing polluting companies through the courts
Grass-roots activists have expressed disappointment over the legislature's latest proposed amendment to the environmental law which effectively bars them from suing polluters on behalf of the public.
Legal experts and environmental groups said the decision showed Beijing feared social stability would be threatened by allowing them to press their causes through the courts.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress this week ended its third review of the 24-year-old Environmental Protection Law. The current round of reviews addresses for the first time which groups will be allowed under the law to file public-interest lawsuits over environmental issues.
Under a draft finished in June, only the state-aligned All-China Environment Federation was eligible to pursue such cases. The criteria have since been expanded but only narrowly.
Zhang Mingqi, vice-chairman of the NPC's law committee, said litigants must be national-level environmental groups legally registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, active for at least the past five years, and possessing a "good reputation".
Professor Cao Mingde with the China University of Political Science and Law said the restrictions would limit the number of potential plaintiffs to about 13 groups, all affiliated with government bodies, although there were thousands of environmental NGOs registered with local or provincial governments.
The draft amendment was slated for a fourth review in December to be followed by a vote, but the chances the criteria would be expanded were slim, said Wang Canfa, a professor with the same university. Authorities felt uneasy about involving grass roots organisation in such lawsuits, fearing some were linked with "overseas forces", Wang said.