China's top court issues guideline on protecting Yellow River

China's top court recently issued a guideline on implementing the Yellow River Protection Law, which came into effect on April 1, calling for courts across the basin to strengthen the environmental protection and serve high-quality ecological development.

The Supreme People's Court disclosed the 18-article guideline on Thursday, noting that the legal document has put water governance of the basin as priority, with stipulations that water for urban and rural residents should be guaranteed while promoting the conservation of water resources.

The guideline states that improper use of water, such as groundwater over exploitation and digging lakes for landscape, should be combated, adding that lawsuits involving water-saving technologies, water-saving facilities and industries with high water consumption, including energy, chemicals and materials, need to be efficiently solved.

It also asked courts to pay greater efforts to deal with cases of water pollution, with stronger legal protection for cultural relics and historical sites, which are frequently seen in the river basin.

In addition, it calls for judges to improve the quality of such case handling and innovate their trial systems to promote environmental conservation.