环境公害诉讼不确定因果关系之解决——以疫学方法为视角

Proving of Uncertain Causation in Environmental Public Hazard Lawsuits——An analysis based on epidemiology method

疫学方法是建立在流行病学原理上以盖然性为基础的因果关系认定方法,对于解决环境污染损害案件中因果关系的证明问题有重要适用价值。疫学方法原则上只能适用于没有经验法则可供借鉴的公害案件,由于它证明的仅仅是因果关系存在的可能性,因而只能用来推定个案因果关系的存在,在适用程序上应当允许被告提出反证。面对公害诉讼中潜伏性损害的赔偿要求,有必要将因果关系中的"损害后果"扩张解释为"损害风险的增加"。而在多因一果的情况下,无需查明各因子的作用力,只要通过疫学方法将病因框定在特定范围内,就可以推定因果关系成立。

Epidemiological causation is a way to prove causation based on epidemiological probability which is meaningful in overcoming the difficulty of causation identifying in environmental public hazard lawsuits. It can only be applied to cases in which no empirical law is available. Actually simple probability of some degree is proved by this way,so epidemiological causation is just a presumption of causation in individual case which may be overturned by counter-evidence. Injury should be interpreted broadly as increased risks so as to cover those latent damages in public hazard lawsuits. Under the situation that an injury is caused by many reasons,it is unnecessary to identity the degree that every causal factor contributes to the injury.The requirement of causation proving can be satisfied only if causes of diseases are defined in certain scope by epidemiological analysis.