Title in original language
昆明闽某纸业有限责任公司等污染环境刑事 附带民事公益诉讼案
Original language
Chinese, Simplified
Country
China
Date of text
Status
Decided
Type of court
National - lower court
Court name
People’s Court of Xishan District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province
Seat of court
Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Reference number
[2021] Yunnan 0112 Criminal First Trial No. 752
Files
Link to full text
Justice(s)
Yang Yue, Meng Yang, Du Zhuxin, Yang Yan, Hu Meiling, Xu Xiuli, Pu Liping
Relations to MEAs
Relations to SDGs
Abstract
Kunming Min Paper Co., Ltd. secretly discharged untreated wastewater into the Tanglangchuan River, seriously polluting a tributary of the Yangtze River. The company avoided treatment costs and caused significant ecological damage. After prosecution by the People’s Procuratorate, the court convicted the company and responsible individuals of polluting the environment and ordered ecological restoration compensation. Because shareholders had abused the company’s separate legal personality and used company assets for personal benefit, the court pierced the corporate veil and held shareholders jointly and severally liable for environmental restoration expenses and appraisal fees.
Key environmental legal questions
How can criminal prosecution and civil public-interest litigation be combined to address environmental harm?
When can courts pierce the corporate veil for environmental damage?
How should courts allocate liability between a polluting company and responsible shareholders?
How are ecological restoration and compensation enforced in environmental crime cases?