Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (Excerpts of environment-related articles)

Article 9 When conducting a civil activity, a person of the civil law shall act in a manner that facilitates conservation of resources and protection of the ecological environment.

Article 209 ...Ownership registration is not required for natural resources that are owned by the State in accordance with law.

Article 247 Mineral deposits, waters, and sea areas are owned by the State.

Article 248 Uninhabited islands are owned by the State, and the State Council exercises the ownership rights over the uninhabited islands on behalf of the State.

Article 249 Urban land is owned by the State. Land in rural and urban suburbs that is provided by law to be owned by the State is owned by the State.

Article 250 Natural resources, such as forests, mountain ridges, grasslands, unreclaimed lands, and mudflats, other than those provided by law to be collectively-owned, are owned by the State.

Article 251 The wild animal and plant resources that are provided by law to be owned by the State are owned by the State.

Article 260 The collectively-owned immovable and movable property include:

(1) the land, forests, mountain ridges, grasslands, unreclaimed land and mudflats that are provided by law to be owned by collectives;

(2) the buildings, production facilities, and farmland water conservancy facilities that are owned by collectives;

...

Article 262 With respect to the collectively-owned land, forests, mountain ridges, grasslands, unreclaimed land, mudflats, and the like, the ownership thereof shall be exercised in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) where they are owned by the farmer collective of a village, the ownership shall be exercised collectively by the collective economic organization of the village or the villagers’ committee on behalf of the collective in accordance with law;

(2) where they are owned by two or more farmer collectives within a village, the ownership shall be exercised by the respective collective economic organizations or the villagers’ groups on behalf of the collectives in accordance with law; and

(3) where they are owned collectively by the farmer collective of a rural-town, the ownership shall be exercised by the economic organizations of the town on behalf of the collective.

Article 286 The unit owners shall abide by laws, regulations, and the stipulations on management, and their relevant acts shall meet the requirements of conserving resources and protecting the ecological environment...

With respect to an act impairing the lawful rights and interests of others, such as arbitrarily discarding garbage, discharging pollutants or noises, feeding and keeping animals in violation of the stipulations, constructing structures against rules and regulations, encroaching on passages, and refusing to pay property management fees, the owners’ assembly or the owners’ committee has the right to request the actor to discontinue such infringements, remove the nuisance, eliminate the danger, restore to the original condition, and compensate for the losses entailed.

...

Article 294 A person entitled to the real rights in immovable property may not, in violation of the regulations of the State, discard solid wastes or emit harmful substances such as atmospheric pollutants, water pollutants, soil pollutants, noises, light radiation, and electromagnetic radiation.

Article 324 Organizations and individuals may, in accordance with law, possess, use, and benefit from the natural resources owned by the State, the State-owned natural resources that are used by collectives, and the natural resources that are owned by collectives as provided by law.

Article 325 The State implements a system of compensation for the use of natural resources, unless otherwise provided by law.

Article 326 A usufructuary shall, when exercising his right, abide by the provisions of laws on the protection, rational exploitation, and utilization of resources and the protection of the ecological environment. The owner may not interfere with the exercise of such rights by the usufructuary.

Article 328 The right to use the sea areas that is acquired in accordance with law is protected by law.

Article 329 The right to explore and mine minerals, to draw water, and to use waters and mudflats to engage in aquaculture or fishing that are acquired in accordance with law is protected by law.

Article 330 ...A system of contractual management of land is adopted in accordance with law for cultivated land, forestland, grassland, and other land used for agricultural purposes which are owned by farmers collectively, or owned by the State and used by farmers collectively.

Article 331 A person who has the right to contractual management of land is, in accordance with law, entitled to possess, use, and benefit from the cultivated land, forestland, and grassland contracted and managed by him, and to engage in agricultural production such as crop cultivation, forestry, and animal husbandry.

Article 332 The term of a contract for cultivated land is 30 years. The term of a contract for grassland ranges from 30 to 50 years. The term of a contract for forestland ranges from 30 to 70 years.

...

Article 346 The right to use a lot of land for construction purposes shall be created in conformity with the requirements for conservation of resources and protection of the ecological environment, and in compliance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations on the planned use of the lot, and may not impair the rights to usufruct already created thereon.

Article 509 ...The parties shall avoid wasting the resources, polluting the environment, or damaging the ecology in the course of performance of the contract.

Article 619 ...Where there is no agreement between the parties on the packaging method or the agreement is unclear, if the packing method cannot bedetermined according to the provisions of Article 510 of this Code, the subject matter shall be packed in a general way, or, in the absence of a general way, in a manner sufficient to protect the subject matter and conducive to saving resources and protecting the ecological environment.

Article 937 A contract for property management service is a contract under which a property management service provider provides to the property owners with property management services within the service area, such as repair and maintenance of buildings and the auxiliary facilities thereof, the management and maintenance of the environmental hygiene, keeping the order, and like, and the property owners pay property management fees in return...

Article 942 ...For any violation of the relevant laws and regulations on public security, environmental protection, fire protection, and the like, in the property management service area, the property management service provider shall, in a timely manner, take reasonable measures to stop the violation, make a report to the competent departments, and render assistance in its handling.

Chapter VII

Liability for Environmental Pollution and Ecological Damage

Article 1229 A tortfeasor who has polluted the environment or harmed the ecological system and thus causes damage to others shall bear tort liability.

Article 1230 Where any dispute arises from environmental pollution or ecological damage, the actor shall bear the burden to prove that he should not be liable or that his liability could be mitigated as provided by law, and that there is no causation between his act and the damage.

Article 1231 Where environmental pollution or ecological damage is caused by two or more tortfeasors, the extent of liability of each tortfeasor shall be determined according to the factors such as the type, concentration, and quantity of discharge of the pollutants, the way, scope, and degree of damage to the ecological system, and the impact of the act on the consequences of damage.

Article 1232 Where a tortfeasor intentionally pollutes the environment or harms the ecological system in violation of the provisions of law, resulting in serious consequences, the infringed person has the right to request for the corresponding punitive damages.

Article 1233 Where environmental pollution or ecological damage is caused owing to the fault of a third person, the infringed person may claim compensation against either the tortfeasor or the third person. After making compensation, the tortfeasor has the right to indemnification against the third person.

Article 1234 Where a tortfeasor causes damage to the ecological environment in violation of the State regulations and restoration is possible, the State authorized agencies or the organizations authorized by law have the right to request the tortfeasor to bear the responsibility for restoration within a reasonable period of time. Where the tortfeasor fails to restore it within the time limit, the State authorized agencies or the organizations authorized by law may initiate the restoration on its own or entrust it with others, provided that any expenses thus incurred shall be borne by the tortfeasor.

Article 1235 Where ecological damage is caused in violation of the State regulations, the State authorized agencies or the organizations authorized by law have the right to request the tortfeasor to compensate the following losses and expenses:

(1) losses caused by loss of service function from the time the ecological environment is damaged to the time the restoration is completed;

(2) losses caused by permanent damage to the function of the ecological environment ;

(3) expenses for investigation, appraisal, and assessment of the damage to the ecological environment;

(4) expenses for cleaning-up the pollution and restoring the ecological environment; and

(5) other reasonable expenses incurred to prevent the occurrence or aggravation of the damage.

Article 1237 Where a nuclear accident occurs at a civil nuclear facility or when nuclear materials are transported into or out of a civil nuclear facility and damage is thus caused to another person, the operator of the facility shall bear tort liability. However, the operator shall not assume such liability if it can be proven that the damage is caused by a war, an armed conflict, a riot, or under other like circumstances, or the damage is intentionally caused by the victim.