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二、逐步完善的法律体系与管理体制
中国重视环境法制建设,目前已经形成了以《中华人民共和国宪法》为基础,以《中华人民共和国环境保护法》为主体的环境法律体系。
《中华人民共和国宪法》规定:“国家保护和改善生活环境和生态环境,防治污染和其他公害。”“国家保障自然资源的合理利用,保护珍贵的动物和植物。禁止任何组织或者个人用任何手段侵占或者破坏自然资源。”
《中华人民共和国环境保护法》是中国环境保护的基本法。该法确立了经济建设、社会发展与环境保护协调发展的基本方针,规定了各级政府、一切单位和个人保护环境的权利和义务。
中国针对特定的环境保护对象制定颁布了多项环境保护专门法以及与环境保护相关的资源法,包括:《水污染防治法》、《大气污染防治法》、《固体废物污染环境防治法》、《海洋环境保护法》、《森林法》、《草原法》、《渔业法》、《矿产资源法》、《土地管理法》、《水法》、《野生动物保护法》、《水土保持法》、《农业法》等。
中国政府还制定了《噪声污染防治条例》、《自然保护区条例》、《放射性同位素与射线装置放射防护条例》、《化学危险品安全管理条例》、《淮河流域水污染防治暂行条例》、《海洋石油勘探开发环境保护管理条例》、《海洋倾废管理条例》、《陆生野生动物保护实施条例》、《风景名胜区管理暂行条例》、《基本农田保护条例》、《城市绿化条例》等30多件环境保护行政法规。此外,各有关部门还发布了大量的环境保护行政规章。
中国地方人民代表大会和地方人民政府为实施国家环境保护法律,结合本地区的具体情况,制定和颁布了600多项环境保护地方性法规。
环境标准是中国环境法律体系的一个重要组成部分,包括环境质量标准、污染物排放标准、环境基础标准、样品标准和方法标准。环境质量标准、污染物排放标准分为国家标准和地方标准。到1995年底,中国颁布了364项各类国家环境标准。中国法律规定,环境质量标准和污染物排放标准属于强制性标准,违反强制性环境标准,必须承担相应的法律责任。
在建立健全环境法律体系的过程中,中国把环境执法放在与环境立法同等重要的位置,连续4年开展了全国环境执法检查,对污染和破坏环境的行为进行严肃查处,对环境违法犯罪行为进行严厉打击。中国十分重视人民群众和新闻舆论对环境违法行为的监督,开辟了人民群众反映环境问题的渠道,加强了新闻媒介对环境违法行为的揭露和曝光。
应该指出的是,中国的环境法制建设还需要进一步完善,如某些方面存在着立法空白、有些法律的内容需要补充和修改、有法不依、执法不严的现象等。因此,继续加强环境法制建设仍是一项重要的战略任务。
中国同样重视环境管理体制建设,现在已经建立起由全国人民代表大会立法监督,各级政府负责实施,环境保护行政主管部门统一监督管理,各有关部门依照法律规定实施监督管理的体制。
全国人民代表大会设有环境与资源保护委员会,负责组织起草和审议环境与资源保护方面的法律草案并提出报告,监督环境与资源保护方面法律的执行,提出同环境与资源保护问题有关的议案,开展与各国议会之间在环境与资源保护领域的交往。一些省、市人民代表大会也相应设立了环境与资源保护机构。
国务院环境保护委员会由国务院有关部门的领导成员组成,是国务院环境保护工作的议事和协调机构。其主要任务是:研究和审议国家环境保护与经济协调发展的方针、政策和措施,指导并协调解决有关的重大环境问题,监督检查各地区、各部门贯彻执行环境保护法律法规的情况,推动和促进全国环境保护事业的发展。省、市、县人民政府也相应设立了环境保护委员会。
国家环境保护局是国务院环境保护行政主管部门,对全国环境保护工作实施统一监督管理。省、市、县人民政府也相继设立了环境保护行政主管部门,对本辖区的环境保护工作实施统一监督管理。目前,中国县级以上环境保护行政主管部门有2500多个,从事环境行政管理、监测、监理、统计、科学研究、宣传教育等的总人数达8.8万人。
中国各级政府的综合部门、资源管理部门和工业部门也设立了环境保护机构,负责相应的环境与资源保护工作。中国多数大中型企业也设有环境保护机构,负责本企业的污染防治以及推行清洁生产。目前,各部门和企业的各类环境保护人员已达20多万人。
China pays great attention to environmental legislative work and has now established an environmental statutory framework that takes the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as the foundation and the Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China as the main body.
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China stipulates, ``The state protects and improves the living environment and the ecological environment, and prevents and remedies pollution and other public hazards,'' and ``The state ensures the rational use of natural resources and protects rare animals and plants. The appropriation or damage of natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohib"iited.''
The Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China is the cardinal law for environmental protection in China. The law has established the basic principle for coordinated development between economic construction, social progress and environmental protection, and defined the rights and duties of governments at all levels, all units and individuals as regards environmental protection.
China has enacted and promulgated many special laws on environmental protection as well as laws on natural resources related to environmental protection. They include the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes, Marine Environment Protection Law, Forestry Law, Grassland Law, Fisheries Law, Mineral Resources Law, Land Administration Law, Water Resources Law, Law on the Protection of Wild Animals, Law on Water and Soil Conservation, and Agriculture Law.
The Chinese government has also enacted more than 30 administrative decrees regarding environmental protection, including the Regulations for the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution, Regulations on Nature Reserves, Regulations on the Prevention of and Protection Against Radiation from Radio Isotopes and Radioactive Device, Regulations on the Safe Administration of Chemicals and Other Dangerous Materials, Provisional Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in the Huaihe River Drainage Area, Regulations Governing Environmental Protection Administration in Offshore Oil Exploration and Development, Regulations on the Control of Marine Wastes Dumping, Regulations for the Implementation of the Protection of Terrestrial Wildlife, Pro"ivisional Regulations on the Administration of National Parks, Regulations on the Protection of Basic Farmland, and Regulations on Urban Afforestation. In addition, departments concerned have also issued a number of administrative rules and decrees on environmental protection.
To implement the state's environmental protection laws and regulations, people's congresses and people's governments at local levels, proceeding from specific conditions in their own areas, have enacted and promulgated more than 600 local laws on environmental protection.
Environmental standards are an important component of China's environmental statutory framework. They include environmental quality standards, pollutant discharge or emission standards, basic environmental criteria, criteria for samples, and criteria for methodology. The environmental quality standards and pollutant discharge or emission standards are divided into state standards and local standards. By the end of 1995, China had promulgated state environmental standards on 364 items. As stipulated in Chinese law, the environmental quality standards and pollutant discharge standards are compulsory standards, and those who violate these compulsory environmental standards must bear the corresponding legal responsibility.
In the process of establishing and improving the environmental statutory framework, China attaches equal importance to environmental law enforcement and environmental legislation. For four years in a row, China has conducted nationwide checks on the enforcement of environmental legislation to seriously deal with acts of polluting and damaging the environment and severely punish environmental law violations. China pays great attention to supervision exercised by the people and media over law-breaking activities regarding the environment -- it has opened channels for the masses of people to report on environmental problems and adopted measures for the media to expose environmental law-breaking activities.
But it should be pointed out that China's environmental legislative work needs to be further improved. For instance, some areas still remain uncovered, some contents are yet to be amended or revised and there are still the phenomena of not fully observing or enforcing laws. Therefore, to make continuous efforts to strengthen environmental legislative work remains an important strategic task.
China attaches equal importance to the establishment of an environmental administrative system. It has established a system in which the National People's Congress enacts the laws, governments at different levels take responsibility for their enforcement, the administrative departments in charge of environmental protection exercise overall supervision and administration and the various departments concerned exercise supervision and administration according to the stipulations of the law.
The National People's Congress has established an Environment and Resources Protection Committee, whose work it is to organize the formulation and examination of drafted laws related to environmental and resources protection and prepare the necessary reports, exercise supervision over the enforcement of laws governing environmental and resources protection, put forward motions related to the issue of environmental and resources protection, and conduct exchanges with parliaments in other countries in the field of environmental and resources protection. The people's congresses of some provinces and cities have also established corresponding environmental and resources protection organizations.
The Environmental Protection Committee under the State Council is made up of leaders of various related ministries under the State Council. It is the State Council's consultancy and coordination agency for environmental protection work. Its major tasks are studying and examining the principles, policies and measures relating to coordinative development of the country's economy and environmental protection, giving guidance to and coordinating efforts in tackling major environmental problems, exercising supervision over and conducting checks on the implementation of the environmental protection laws and regulations by various localities and departments, and promoting the development of environmental protection undertakings throughout the country. The people's governments at the provincial, city and county levels have also established corresponding environmental protection committees.
The National Environmental Protection Agency is the competent environmental protection administration agency under the State Council, whose task it is to exercise overall supervision and administration over the country's environ"imen tal protection work. The people's governments at the provincial, city and county levels have also successively established environmental protection administration departments to carry out overall supervision and administration of the environ"imen tal protection work in their localities. At present, there are nationwide more than 2,500 environmental protection administration departments above the county level with a total staff of 88,000 engaged in environmental administration, monitoring, inspection and control, statistics collection, scientific research, pub"ilicity and education.
Environmental protection organizations have also been established in comprehensive administration departments, resources administration departments and industrial departments under governments at various levels to take charge of related environmental and resources protection work. Most of China's large and medium-sized enterprises have also set up environmental protection organizations responsible for their own anti-pollution work and the promotion of cleaner production. At present, the total number of various types of environmental protection workers employed by the various departments and enterprises exceeds 200,000. |
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