Chinese Ruling Threatens Environmental Public Interest Suits

摘要

A Chinese court ordered two nongovernmental organizations to pay 1.89 million yuan ($275,000) in legal fees for a failed environmental public interest lawsuit, raising concerns of a chilling effect on groups using the courts to fight pollution. "We are highly concerned that this would set a precedent for courts to use similar charging standards for future environmental public interest lawsuits," said Ma Yong, head of the legal department of the China Biodiversity Conservation & Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), which along with Friends of Nature filed the suit.