Yichun Intermediate Court: Public Interest Litigation Was Returned, What Is This Operation?
2020/4/26 17:38:00 本站

China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) received reports on a wildlife breeding enterprise in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province, which is suspected of hunting and selling wildlife to eat. CBCGDF collects evidence after investigation. To implement the Decision of Banning Illegal Wildlife Trade, Abolishing the Practice of Eating Wildlife, and Securing Public Health Security adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on February 24th, CBCGDF files an environment public interest litigation (EPIL) and mailed documents to the Yichun Intermediate People's Court on April 4th.

 

On April 13th, CBCGDF received a call from the court and was informed that documents submitted by the organization don't satisfy requirements for instituting EPIL because of the absence of the CBCGDF Working Report of 2019. And CBCGDF also needs to provide the originally written verdict of its subject qualification accredited by the Supreme People's Court, which is mentioned in the statement of claim, for verification.

 

For the above requirements put forward by the local court, CBCGDF colleagues give the response as follows:

 

1. Influenced by the COVID19 outbreak, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has not started the annual verification of the working reports of 2019 submitted by all social organizations. So, CBCGDF cannot provide the Working Report.

2. The verdict referred to in the statement of claim can be verified online. CBCGDF requests to provide the Yichun Intermediate People's Court with the copy officially sealed.

 

Meanwhile, CBCGDF colleagues request the Yichun court to offer an official notice for accordingly preparing. But the court confirms that they only inform by call, no written or paper notification offering.

 

On April 20th, when colleagues of the Office of Law Affairs were preparing the supplements as requested by the court, CBCGDF received the rejected documents of the litigation.

 

According to the Civil Procedure Law and the Environment Protection Law, CBCGDF is qualified to file the EPIL. Article 123 of the Civil Procedure Law regulates that "the people's courts shall safeguard a party's right to institute an action under the law. A people's court shall accept the action prescribed in Article 119 of the Law. If the people's court finds it satisfies the conditions for the institution of actions, the people's court shall place the action on its trial docket within seven days and notify the parties. If the people's court finds it does not satisfy the conditions for the institution of actions, the people's court shall rule within seven days not to accept the action. The plaintiff may appeal against such ruling if he is dissatisfied with the ruling". The Yichun Intermediate People's Court rejects CBCGDF’s documents without issuing any written notice.

 

CBCGDF will unswervingly promote the judicial process of this EPIL and safeguard the rights via legal channels. We will keep posted on this case.


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(Photo credit: CBCGDF)


By / Wang Yanqing Modified / Maggie