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Legal Resources
Chinese Legal Framework
Statutes
- Environmental Laws, Policies, and Regulations (MEP)
Translated into English
- ECOLEX: A Gateway to Environmental Law
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ECOLEX is an information service on environmental law, operated jointly by FAO, IUCN and UNEP.
To locate Chinese laws, select "National Legislation," then, on the search page, choose a subject (e.g. air & atmosphere) from the list, then select China from the country list. The result is a list of laws or regulations including the title and date of the item, plus a link to the full text in English.
- LawInfoChina.com (www.lawinfochina.com is the site for English-language resources on Chinese law created and maintained by Chinalawinfo Co., Ltd., and the Legal Information Center of Peking University. Some resources require payment of a subscription fee.)
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- Legal System of China (LawinfoChina.com)
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Regulations and Directives
Air
Energy Conservation
Export
- China imposes new export restrictions on polluting companies. On October 8, 2007 China issued The Notice on Strengthening Environmental Supervision of Export Enterprises [text in Chinese]
, which
requires authorities to suspend export licenses and deny quota applications against violators of environmental regulations.
A system of environmental monitors will be phased in. Priority sectors cited include metallurgy, chemical,
cement, textile and light industry. Provincial environmental and commerce departments are also required to set up joint
working groups supervise compliance.
Food Safety
Information
- China's new information disclosure regulation
was signed by Premier Wen Jiabao on April 24, 2007. This regulation will take effect May 1, 2008. Text of regulation: English (Translation by China Law Center, Yale Law School. PDF, 9 pp, 42k) / Chinese
- Measures on Open Environmental Information, for Trial Implementation (Adopted by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China
on February 8, 2007; Effective May 1, 2008) (PDF, 8 pp, 44k)
Ministry of Environmental Protection
Pesticides
Sustainability
Waste
Water
Treaties
International Cooperation Documents
Reports
2009
2008
- Clean Energy: an Exporter's Guide to China (U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, July 2008) (PDF, 113 pp, 3.2MB)
- Beyond Compliance: Assessing Water Management Practices and Opportunities in Chinese Apparel Factories (Business for Social Responsibility MAP Team, 2008) (PDF, 55 pp, 7MB)
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- Breaking the Suicide Pact: U.S.–China Cooperation on Climate Change, by William Chandler (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Policy Brief no. 57, March 2008)
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- China's Efforts and Achievements in Promoting the Rule of Law (China State Council White Paper, 2008)
Section IV includes discussion of environmental law.
- The Environment : reprinted from the 2007 Annual Report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, October 10, 2007 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 2008) (PDF, 13 pp, 70K)
-
Mid-Term Evaluation of China's 11th Five Year Plan (World Bank, 12/18/08)
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- A Price Too High – Health Impacts of Air Pollution in southern China (Civic Exchange, June 2008) (PDF, 100 pp)
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In this research report, the authors have estimated that nearly 10000 deaths in the Southern China region with the majority (94%) occurring in the Pearl River Delta2 (PRD) have occurred due to air pollution at 2006.
- What will drive China’s future legal development : reports from the field : hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, June 18, 2008. (United States. Congressional-Executive Commission on China. U.S. G.P.O., 2008)
2007
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - an Environmental Review (United Nations Environment Programme, 2007)
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- China's Food Quality and Safety (August 2007) (Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China)
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- Country Environmental Analysis for the People's Republic of China. Asian Development Bank (May, 2007) (PDF, 155 pp, 1584K)
-
Energy Futures and Urban Air Pollution:
Challenges for China and the United States (National Academies Press, 2007)
- Impact of emergencies in 2007 : three cases : reprinted from the 2007 Annual Report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, One Hundred Tenth Congress, first session, October 10, 2007 (U.S. Government Printing Office, 2008) (PDF, 20 pp, 91K) Covers food safety, product quality, and climate change.
- OECD Environmental Performance Review of China (July 2007)
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- Regulating Food Safety in China (By Linden J. Ellis)
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- Water Pollution Emergencies in China: Prevention and Response (World Bank, June 2007) (PDF, 30 pp, 340K)
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2006
Articles
2009
-
China's Environmental Super Ministry Reform:
Background, Challenges, and the Future, by Xin Qiu and Honglin Li (Environmental Law Reporter: News & Analysis, vol. 39, no. 2, February 2009, pp. 10152-10163) (PDF, 12 pp, 1.1mb) Copyright(c) 2009 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- Future Prospects of China’s Policy on Climate Change, by Jianjun Tu (China Brief, vol. 9, Issue 1, January 12, 2009)
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2008
- American Bar Association, International Environmental Law Committee Newsletter. The August 2008 issue focuses on Chinese environmental law. Contributors include: Robert Percival, Roger Martella, Charles R. McElwee II, and others.
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- Annual Review of Chinese Environmental Law Developments: 2007, by Mingqing You (Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis, Vol. 38, Issue 10, October 2008, p. 10718) (PDF, 8 pp, 175K) Copyright(c) 2008 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- China and Climate Change: Domestic Environmental Needs, Differentiated International Responsibilities, and Rule of Law Weaknesses, by Patricia Ross McCubbin (Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal , vol. 3, pp. 200 - 235, Fall 2008) (PDF, 36 pp, 251k)
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- China's Influence on the American Legal System Resulting from China's Rise to Power, by Mark A. Scott (Suffolk Transnational Law Review, vol. 32, pp. 51 - 92, Winter 2008) (PDF, 41 pp, 381k)
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- Climate Change Policy And Policy Change in China. by Jonathan B. Wiener.
(UCLA Law Review, vol. 55, August 2008, pp. 1805-1826) (PDF, 22 pp, 175K) ![Exit EPA Disclaimer](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090508163149im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/epafiles_misc_exitepadisc.gif)
- Climate Change: The China Problem, by Michael P. Vandenbergh.
(Southern California Law Review, vol. 81, July 2008, pp. 905-958) (PDF, 54 pp, 283K)
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- Cultural Devolution:
Solving China's environmental catastrophe, by Bradford Plumer (New Republic, 7/9/08)
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- China's Pollution Discharge Permit System Evolves Behind Its Economic
Expansion, by Wang Mingyuan (Villanova Environmental Law Journal,
vol XIX, Issue I, 2008, pp. 95-121) (PDF, 27 pp, 22MB) Posted with the permission of the author.
Author's note: "On 28 February, 2008, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress amended the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the PRC, and the water pollutant discharge permit system was formally introduced into the amended law (Art. 20)."
- Different Operating Systems, by Dan Guttman (The Environmental Forum, vol. 25, no. 6, November/December 2008, p. 27) (PDF, 1 pp, 139K) Copyright(c) 2008 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- Implementing Environmental Law in Transitional Settings: The Chinese Experience, by Roda Mushkat (Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, vol. 18, pp. 45- 94, Fall 2008) (PDF, 50 pp, 377k)
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Middling Kingdom : The Paper Panda, by Samuel Bleicher (Environmental Forum, vol. 25, no. 6 November/December 2008, p. 24 (PDF, 6 pp, 999k) Copyright(c) 2008 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- Nanotechnology in China: Regulations and Patents, by Deming Liu (Nanotechnology Law and Business, Volume 5, Issue 4, Winter 2008) Abstract only.
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- A Strategic Economic Engagement: Strengthening U.S.-Chinese Ties, by Henry M. Paulson Jr. ( Foreign Affairs, September-October 2008)
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- Who's Cleaning Up This Mess? by Charles R. McElwee II (Originally published in the January - February 2008 issue of the China Business Review, Pg. 20)
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2007
- Annual Review of Chinese Environmental Law Developments: 2006, by Mingqing You (Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis, Vol. 37, Issue 11, November 2007, p. 10836) Copyright(c) 2007 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- China: An Introduction to Current Environmental Trends, by Charles R. McElwee, II. (International Environmental Law Committee Newsletter, Vol. 10, no. 1, October 2007, p. 35)
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- China Adopts First Nationwie Open Government Information Regulations
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- China's Coming Environmental Renaissance (November 29, 2007)
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- The Great Leap Backward? by Elizabeth C. Economy (Foreign Affairs, vol. 86, no. 5, September/October 2007)
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- China’s Strategic Priorities in International Climate Change Negotiations, by Joanna I. Lewis (Washington Quarterly. vol. 31, no. 1, Winter 2007-2008, pp. 155-174)
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- Is China Turning Green? -- A Commentary by Daniel Esty (Originally published in Fortune Magazine on May 4, 2007)
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- Making central-local relations work: Comparing America and China environmental governance systems, by Dan Guttman (Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China, vol. 1, no. 4, October, 2007, pp. 418-433) Abstract only. Full text of article can be purchased from the publisher.
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- One Billion Enforcers, by Alex Wang. (The Environmental Forum vol. 24, no. 2, March/April 2007) Copyright(c) 2007 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted
with permission from The Environmental Forum.
- Vermont Journal of Environmental Law, vol. 8, issue 2 ( Spring 2007) contains a number of articles relating to the Chinese environmental regulatory system.
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2006
- Comparative Analysis of Air Pollution Trading in the United States and China, by Heather Jarvis and Wei Xu (Environmental Law Reporter News & Analysis, vol. 36, Issue 3, March 2006, p. 10234) (PDF, 17 pp, 369K) Copyright(c) 2006 Environmental Law Institute(r), Washington, DC. Posted with permission from the Environmental Law Institute.
- Environmental Law and Policy In The People's Republic of China, by Stefanie Beyer (Chinese Journal of International Law, vol. 5, no. 1, February 2006, pp. 185-211) Abstract only. Article is available for purchase from the publisher.
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2005
2001
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