Chinese courts conclude over 1.03m environmental, resource cases in past 5 years

URUMQI -- Chinese courts concluded more than 1.03 million environmental and resource-related cases of first instance between 2019 and 2023, an increase of 18.9 percent from the previous five-year period, according to a conference of top court presidents from China and Central Asian countries held here from Monday to Tuesday.

Yang Wanming, presiding judge of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) first circuit court, said the cases involve criminal, civil and administrative matters pertaining to environmental pollution prevention and control, biodiversity conservation, climate change response, resource development, and ecological environment management.

The resolution of these cases has advanced China's law-based ecological governance while simultaneously advancing the nation's efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution and increase green development in its economic growth, Yang said.

According to the SPC, 31 superior courts in China have established environmental and resource tribunals over the past decade. More than 2,800 specialized environmental and resource judicial bodies and organizations have been established throughout China's four levels of courts.

The country has created an extensive and comprehensive ecological and environmental judicial system, it added.