船舶污染领域民事赔偿责任优先原则的落实机制

Implementation Mechanism of the Principle of Priority of Civil Liability in the Field of Ship Pollution

船舶污染事故所致损失重大,导致行政罚款数额普遍较高,甚至可能因构成刑事犯罪而需要缴纳刑事罚金。在违法行为人财力有限的情况下,时常出现其缴纳行政罚款或刑事罚金后无力支付民事赔偿的局面,与《中华人民共和国民法典》第187条规定的民事赔偿责任优先原则相背离。实际上,民事赔偿责任优先原则在船舶污染领域的适用具有理论基础,包括民事赔偿责任优先是私权优先在海洋环境领域的体现,符合环境正义的法治理念,是实现海洋环境修复的重要机制等。针对船舶污染领域在落实民事赔偿责任优先原则方面存在的船舶污染民事诉讼审理周期较长、缺乏配套程序性制度等现实障碍,建议借鉴证券领域的制度设计经验,建立船舶污染行政罚款、刑事罚金的财政回拨机制,以确保船舶污染领域有效落实民事赔偿责任优先原则。

The losses resulting from ship pollution incidents are significant,leading to generally high administrative fines,in some cases,even criminal penalties.When the financial resources of the offender are limited,it often occurs that the offender lacks sufficient funds for civil compensation after paying the administrative fines or criminal penalties.This contradicts the principle of priority of civil liability,as stipulated in Article 187 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China.In fact,the application of the principle of priority of civil liability in the field of ship pollution has a solid theoretical foundation.It reflects the primacy of private rights in the marine environment field,aligns with the rule of law in environmental justice,and serves as an important mechanism for achieving the restoration of the marine environment.To address the obstacles in implementing this principle in the field of ship pollution,such as lengthy civil litigation process and the absence of supporting procedural systems,it is proposed to draw on the institutional design experience of the securities field and establish a financial callback mechanism for the administrative fines and criminal penalties related to ship pollution.This would ensure the effective implementation of the principle of priority of civil liability in ship pollution cases.