The amendment of environmental protection law has aroused social concern because of the environmental pollution and the public's physical and mental safety. The draft amendment to the environmental law, which has been considered by the NPC Standing Committee two times, has recently been publicly solicited by the National People's Congress website for the second time.
Last year, it was understood that China's current law on Environmental Protection was enacted in 1989, on the basis of the 1979 trial law, which has been in place for the past more than 20 years. In recent years, the environmental pollution incidents frequently, the original provisions are not enough to meet the protection and improvement of the environmental needs, so the revision of the Environmental Protection law calls for an upsurge. In late January 2011, the National People's Congress of the Committee commissioned the Ministry of Environmental Protection to draft the "Environmental protection Law" Revised draft, at the same time put forward to focus on environmental impact assessment of 8 aspects of the content to be modified.
August 2012, the NPC Standing Committee for the first time to consider the draft amendments to the Environmental Protection Act, but a review has been widely questioned, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, law and even the internal committee of the SASAC has many different views. The amendment Bill of the Environmental Protection Act has received 11,748 comments from 9,572 netizens during the one-month period. The controversy about the amendment of the Environmental Protection Law has gradually changed from the suggestion to the actual change, but the environmental pollution is still happening frequently.
The main focus of public interest litigation is June 26 to 29th this year, the third meeting of the 12 NPC Standing Committee, two review of the draft amendments to the Law on Environmental Protection has aroused general concern. The amendment, the legislative branch of "environmental protection is the basic state policy" has been written into the draft amendment. To the illegal sewage enterprises to "punish according to the day", this is known as the "Environmental Protection Law" Draft amendment of a major bright spot, has become the focus of attention. At the same time, the draft revised the environmental monitoring system to increase the "establishment of environmental information sharing mechanism" provisions, the public opinion that this is an important step to enhance information disclosure. In addition, "Officials do not act or may resign", "forgery of environmental data or will be removed from office" and other provisions also for public opinion.
However, in this review, the designated public interest litigation as the main point of contention, draft II. Review of environmental protection of public interest litigation as the main body of the Chinese Green Association, this point triggered the public welfare sector, public Interest lawyers and legal scholars of the strong dissatisfaction, there is public opinion that the Chinese Environmental Protection Association "monopoly" of environmental protection public Interest litigation subject qualification, and called this "a retrogression.
