Reflections on the environmental damage compensation regime in Chinese civil legislations

The chapter on Tort Liability of the new Chinese Civil Code has broadened the types of environmental torts and expanded the scope of environmental damages. After such changes, however, deficiencies still exist. Most significantly, environmental torts are not determined by illegality, which means whether national emission standards have been violated is irrelevant. As long as damages are caused, the principle of liability without fault shall be applied. Conflicts in Chinese environmental law have led to discrepancies and inconsistencies in related judicial decisions. In this regard, this paper argues that the "theory of tolerance limit" should be adopted to redefine the meaning of illegality and further identify the conception of liability without fault for environmental damages. In addition, the punitive damages system created by the Civil Code also lacks clarity in its judgment criteria. Since the purpose of private law is reparation rather than punishment, this paper recommends that the scope of punitive damages should be clarified through compensation for loss to maintain consistency in civil legislation.