This book is a collection of the ten environment and resources cases published in the UN Environment Programme’s environmental law database. These ten cases are selected amongst the environment and resources guiding cases issued by the Supreme People’s Court of China over the previous years， including criminal， civil， administrative， and public interest litigation， and actions for ecological damages involving environmental elements such as air， water， soil， minerals， forestry， fisheries， wildlife， nature reserves， and so on. Sharing guiding cases as such can help set a uniform standard， improve rules for environmental adjudication， and strengthen the role of law in behavior guiding and policy formulation.

Ecological civilization is a great accomplishment of human society and the inevitable pathway to harmonious coexistence between humankind and nature. Therefore， great importance has been attached to ecological civilization in China and the government has incorporated it into the country’s overall development strategy. With constant innovation in theory， practice and institutional design， the country strives to make a series of fundamental， long-term， and groundbreaking arrangements that secure historical progress in environmental protection and in the journey towards ecological civilization.

Environmental justice， integral to the environmental governance system， plays an irreplaceable role in building the ecological civilization system. In July 2014， the Supreme People’s Court of China set up a specialized Environment and Resources Division to hear major environment and resources cases and guide the environmental adjudication across the court system. Since then， specialized environmental divisions and tribunals have been created within courts of all levels. By the end of 2019， a total of 1，353 environment and resources divisions， collegial panels， and tribunals had been established across China. Over the past six years， more than 1，200，000 environment and resources cases have been heard by the law， fairly and efficiently. The court system， with sound adjudication rules， a well-designed mechanism， and ever more experienced judges， have provided sound judicial safeguards for ecological civilization and green development.

It is the shared aspiration of mankind to protect mother earth and build a beautiful home. China’s court system has been active in collaborating with its international counterparts in environmental adjudication， with focus on stepping up the sharing and studying of environmental cases. In September 2017， the Supreme People’s Court and the UN Environment Programme signed the Memorandum of Understanding to create a Chinese environmental adjudication section in the UN Environment Programme’s global online law database， where example cases and white papers on environmental justice will be selected by the Supreme People’s Court of China and then published on the database and shared across the world. The English translation of the first batch of ten example cases and the White Paper of “China’s Environment and Resources Adjudication” 2016， 2017 were already released on the online database in March 2019.

The English publication is believed to be another active step towards publicity of China’s environmental justice and more in-depth international exchanges and study on environmental cases. I would like to take this opportunity to thank ClientEarth China， for the publication would not happen without their support.

Civilizations thrive as they learn from each other. China is at a critical stage of comprehensively deepening the reform of the ecological civilization system and accelerating development towards ecological civilization. Courts of all levels are making strides under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization. At this juncture， we must absorb and learn from the judicial civilizations of other countries while bearing in mind our national conditions and sticking to Chinese characteristics. The Supreme People’s Court of China hopes to contribute to global ecological security and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through in-depth exchanges and fruitful cooperation in the field of international environmental justice.

The Most Influential Environment amp; Resources Cases in China

Environment and Resources Division of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China

EScience Press

December 2021

25.00 （USD）