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The Contribution of China’s Civil Law to Sustainable Development: Progress and Prospects

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  • Tiantian Zhai

    (School of Law, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China)

  • Yen-Chiang Chang

    (School of Law, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China)

Abstract

Environmental protection is mainly the focus of environmental law in China, but as China has started to pursue ecological civilization, its civil law has begun to respond to environmental problems as well, which is called the “greening of civil law”. As a result, the newly passed General Provisions of Civil Law adopted a “Green Principle” requiring private actors to contribute to resources conservation and environmental protection in civil activities. Through normative and comparative analysis, this article explores the establishment of the “Green Principle”, the rationales for civil law’s response to environmental problems in China, the progress already made, and the further efforts that are needed. It argues that the major challenge for the greening of China’s civil law at present is the modification of the subsequent sections of the forthcoming civil code. Despite the progress that has already been made, further efforts are needed regarding the following aspects: environmental and resources protection should be taken into account in contract rules concerning the validity, performance, and interpretation of contracts, and rules on emission trading contracts should be added; the property section should stipulate the unified exercise of state ownership over natural resources; and the “personality rights” section should stipulate environmental rights so as to clarify the right that is violated in environmental public interest litigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiantian Zhai & Yen-Chiang Chang, 2019. "The Contribution of China’s Civil Law to Sustainable Development: Progress and Prospects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:1:p:294-:d:195871
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mehran Idris Khan & Yen-Chiang Chang, 2018. "Environmental Challenges and Current Practices in China—A Thorough Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tiantian Zhai, 2022. "Double-Faceted Environmental Civil Liability and the Separate-Regulatory Paradigm: An Inspiration for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Dong Yan & Paolo Davide Farah & Ivana Gaskova & Carlo Vittorio Giabardo, 2020. "Evaluating China’s Environmental Management and Risks Avoidance Policies and Regulations on Offshore Methane Hydrate Extraction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-15, July.

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