Interpretation of the Legislative Purpose of “Safeguarding the Public’s Ecological and Environmental Rights and Interests” in the Ecological and Environmental Code

LIU Weixian* & FU Jianbin**

Abstract: The Ecological and Environmental Code for the first time regards the protection of the public’s “ecological and environmental rights and interests” as the legislative purpose of China’s basic environmental protection laws, which is a major innovation in the legislative purpose of the code. It is not only progress in legal technology, but also a concentrated reflection of the value orientation of the ecological civilization era. This legislative purpose marks the transformation of China’s ecological environment protection from the unitary central stage of administrative supervision to the new stage of multi-governance that attaches importance to the public’s ecological and environmental rights and interests. It is also a profound change in the concept and mode of national governance in the field of ecological environment, laying a solid foundation for the rule of law in building a Chinese path to modernization in which people and nature coexist harmoniously, and is a milestone in achieving the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Accurately understanding and grasping the legislative purpose of “safeguarding the public’s ecological and environmental rights and interests” requires a micro-level legal interpretation, clarifying its normative meaning, explaining its normative function, determining its expected requirements, in order to accurately reveal its legal connotation. At present, the Ecological and Environmental Code does not centralize the protection of public’s ecological and environmental rights and interests in a specific chapter or section. Instead, through the coordination of the ecological environment information disclosure system, public participation system, public supervision and reporting system, living environment maintenance system, and relief system, a systematic system for safeguarding public’s ecological and environmental rights and interests is constructed. However, the effective implementation of the legislative purpose of “safeguarding the public’s ecological and environmental rights and interests” in the Ecological and Environmental Code still faces challenges from both state organs and the general public, which need to be addressed and improved in the implementation of the Code.

Keywords: Ecological and Environmental Code ·  ecological and environmental rights and interests ·  contemporary significance ·  legal interpretation ·  institutional safeguards ·  challenges in implementation