Good News | Zhang Kai, a lawyer from the Jinan office of Zhongcheng Qingtong Law Firm, was selected as one of the top ten typical cases of judicial protection of the Grand Canal for his environmental public interest litigation.
Published:
2025-08-07
Recently, a symposium on the judicial protection of the Grand Canal was held in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. Li Xiangbo, Deputy Director of the Environmental Resources Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court; heads of environmental and resource tribunals from eight provincial-level regions along the canal; representatives from over 30 intermediate people's courts; some national people's congress deputies; and experts and scholars on Grand Canal protection attended the meeting. Among the ten typical cases of judicial protection of the Grand Canal released at the meeting, the "environmental pollution civil public interest litigation case" handled by lawyer Zhang Kai of our firm was successfully selected, becoming a landmark case in the judicial protection of the ecological security of the river basin.
Recently, a symposium on the judicial protection of the Grand Canal was held in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. Li Xiangbo, Deputy Chief Judge of the Environmental Resources Tribunal of the Supreme People's Court; heads of environmental and resource tribunals from eight provincial-level regions along the canal; over 30 intermediate people's courts; some national people's congress representatives; and experts and scholars on Grand Canal protection attended the meeting. Among the ten typical cases of judicial protection of the Grand Canal released at the meeting, the "environmental pollution civil public interest litigation case" handled by lawyer Zhang Kai from our firm was successfully selected, becoming a landmark case in the judicial protection of the ecological security of the river basin.
【Basic Case Facts】
Shandong Luxing Qilu Environmental Protection Public Welfare Service Center discovered through investigation that, since January 2020, a certain water company has been discharging wastewater containing excessive sulfate and total salt content, and has been administratively punished by the ecological environment department many times. The excessive pollutants discharged by the company Weishan Lake flowed into the Nansi Lake through the river channel, causing substantial damage to the Weishan Lake ecosystem, an important part of the Grand Canal basin.
To curb the spread of pollution, the Shandong Luxing Qilu Environmental Protection Public Welfare Service Center entrusted the Zhang Kai lawyer team to file a civil public interest lawsuit, with claims including: ordering the water company to immediately stop the act of exceeding the standard discharge, compensating for ecological environmental losses, and issuing a public apology in provincial mainstream media. During the trial, the Jinan Railway Transportation Intermediate People's Court commissioned a professional institution to conduct a judicial appraisal, and the assessment confirmed that the compensation for surface water damage amounted to more than 3.9 million yuan.
【Trial Result】
After trial, the Jinan Railway Transportation Intermediate People's Court ruled in accordance with the law:
1. The water company shall immediately stop discharging water pollutants that do not meet the standards;
2. Within ten days from the effective date of the judgment, compensate for ecological environmental losses of 3,991,761.12 yuan (in Chinese characters: RMB Three Million Nine Hundred Ninety-One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-One Yuan and Twelve Cents);
3. Within thirty days from the effective date of the judgment, apologize to the public for the pollution behavior in the mainstream media of Shandong Province.
After the appeal, the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court ruled to reject the appeal and uphold the original judgment. After the judgment came into effect, the water company has fully implemented rectification measures, and the discharge water quality has remained consistently up to standard.
【Typical Significance】
As the largest freshwater lake in northern China, Weishan Lake is both an ecological barrier in the Grand Canal basin and a core water transfer channel and regulating hub for the East Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Its ecological strategic position is extremely important. This case clarifies the responsibilities of polluters through judicial judgment, constructing a full-chain responsibility system of "stopping infringement - compensation for losses - ecological restoration," providing an important judicial reference for cross-regional basin pollution control.
The typical value of this case is reflected in three aspects: First, through judicial appraisal, quantifying ecological damage, providing a practical sample for the " monetization of ecological value " in environmental public interest litigation; second, strengthening the judicial understanding of "exceeding the standard discharge constitutes infringement," judicial cognition , forcing enterprises to assume the main responsibility for environmental protection; third, highlighting the role of professional legal services in ecological protection. The professional operation of the Zhang Kai lawyer team in evidence fixation and loss determination laid a solid foundation for the winning of the case.
This selection as a national typical case is not only an affirmation of our firm's lawyers' professional abilities and commitment to public welfare, but also confirms the core role of judicial means in the protection of the Grand Canal cultural heritage and ecological environment, providing legal guarantee for promoting coordinated governance and green development of the basin.
Key words:
Related News
Zhongcheng Qingtai Jinan Region
Address: Floor 55-57, Jinan China Resources Center, 11111 Jingshi Road, Lixia District, Jinan City, Shandong Province
