Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei courts to jointly strengthen environmental adjudication

Courts in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province have signed a memorandum of understanding on environmental adjudication to jointly research more on new or complicated issues and cultivate more legal talent in this regard.

The MOU, aiming to beautify China and strengthen environmental protection in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, was signed on Tuesday by the Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court, the Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People's Court and the counterpart in Xiong'an New Area in Hebei.

"We'd like to share information of environmental case handling with two other courts, with more exchanges on talent education," said Shan Guojun, president of the Beijing court, adding the MOU will also help unify verdict-rendering standards and promote coordinated development in the region.

Cheng Qingyi, president of the Tianjin court, regarded the MOU as a new practice of the regional courts to improve the quality of legal services, calling for judges to facilitate judicial reforms on environment and make the handling of environmental disputes more professional.

Ren Xiaogang, president of the Xiong'an court, highlighted the importance of environmental conservation, saying Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are in the same ecosystem.

"The sound environment is a key foundation for the regional sustainable development in economy," he added.

The three presidents agreed to increase legal research and case sharing on environment, pledging to endeavor to jointly help enhance public's awareness of environmental protection by rule of law.

In addition to the MOU, the Beijing court publicly heard an environmental public-interest case on Wednesday, in which a scenic spot was accused by prosecutors of excavating mountains without permission, destroying forest land and illegally mining sand.

The prosecutors pointed out the defendant's mining activities caused permanent damage to the mountains and the destruction of public forest land, affecting the climate and hydrological regulation of the ecosystem.

During the trial, the defendant acknowledged its damage to the environment, expressing the willingness to take responsibility for the environmental restoration.