环境公益诉讼纳入国际环境公约履约体系的路径研究

On the Path of Incorporating Environmental Public InterestLitigation into the Implementation System of InternationalEnvironmental Conventions

完善环境立法与执法是我国履行《生物多样性公约》《关于特别是作为水禽栖息地的国际重要湿地公约》等国际环境公约的传统方式,相比之下,环境公益诉讼在国家履约体系中的地位与作用尚未凸显。将环境公益诉讼确立为一项常规履约方式之外的补充手段在法理上符合国家履约的形式要求,在规范上存在恰当的解释空间,在实践中展现出履约意愿与履约实效。考察我国实践可见,环境公益诉讼能以国家司法力量驱动公约义务履行,有助于更好地落实国际环境公约的目的与原则。将环境公益诉讼作为补充的履约手段纳入国家履约体系,可以统筹推进国内法治和涉外法治,为全球环境治理注入中国司法力量。

Improving environmental legislation and law enforcement is the traditional way for China to implement international environmental conventions,such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Wetlands.However,in contrast,the status and role of environmental public interest litigation in the national implementation system have not yet been highlighted.Based on the Chinese judicial achievement that has been fully demonstrated in the ten years of construction and exploration of China's environmental public interest litigation system,the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Wetlands can be used as examples to illustrate the jurisprudence support and normative basis for environmental public interest litigation to help China's implementing the conventions,and to analyze its specific response to the purposes,principles and obligations of international environmental conventions in the context of specific judicial cases.The enactment and enforcement of laws by States parties to implement international environmental conventions are acts of implementation in the traditional sense.China has always endeavored to improve the legal and policy systems related to the conventions,taking legislation and law enforcement as essential means of implementation.At the same time,China's increasingly complete environmental public interest litigation system meeting the requirements of national implementation,can be included in the obligations of the convention,and its functions and values are in line with the pursuit of the convention's objectives. The establishment of environmental public interest litigation asa supplementary means to the implementation system of convention meets the formalrequirements of national implementation based on jurisprudence, has appropriateroom for interpretation in norms, and demonstrates the willingness and effectivenessof implementation in practice, i.e., it puts into practice the purpose of the conventionon the macro level, implements the principles of the convention on the meso level,and fulfills the obligations of the convention on the micro level. In addition to theconvention's text, the latest outcome of the Conference of the Parties to the conventionhas also provided the basis and impetus for China to innovate ways of implementingthe convention. Although the two declarations are not yet binding under internationallaw, China can use environmental public interest litigation as one of the importantways to implement and enforce domestic environmental laws, and at the same time,use dynamic judicial means such as interpreting the laws and issuing guidanceopinions to promote the writing of laws between the executive and the judiciary, so asto realize the solemn promises made in the two declarations. Examination of China'spractice shows that environmental public interest litigation can drive the fulfillmentof the obligations of the conventions with the judicial power of the State, which helpsto better implement the purposes and principles of the environmental conventions.Incorporating environmental public interest litigation into the national implementationsystem as a supplementary means of implementation can meet the urgent need for theState to integrate the rule of law at the national level and the rule of law concerningforeign countries, provide a reference for China's future implementation work, and joinglobal environmental governance with China's judicial power.