Eco-Environmental Liability from the Perspective of the Codification of Environmental Law
摘要
This chapter examines eco-environmental liability within the framework of codifying environmental law in China, focusing on its systematic integration. Eco-environmental liability encompasses three components: civil, administrative, and criminal liability. Codification poses several challenges: civil liability, which emphasizes post-violation penalties, and struggles with the application of provisions for ecological restoration and damage compensation; criminal liability faces debates over legislative models and ambiguous definitions; and administrative liability is hindered by its diffuse nature and enforcement challenges. The primary difficulty in systematic integration lies in defining the framework for ecological restoration and delineating the responsibilities interface. The proposed direction involves coordinating civil and administrative restoration efforts by: establishing ecological restoration responsibilities primarily under public law; harmonizing the Civil Code with the Environmental Code to confine civil liabilities within the latter; aligning the Environmental Code with Criminal law to avoid overly detailed criminal provisions; and coordinating responsibilities across civil, administrative, and criminal branches to address varied legal violation scenarios.