In China and International Environmental Liability, Michael Faure and Song Ying examine the issue of transboundary pollution problems and present selected cases of integrated legal remedies. The text compiles the writings of both European and Chinese scholars in law, policy, and environmental fields who can speak to the growing problem of transboundary environmental problems and what role law can play. Conceptually, Faure and Ying organize the book in three parts: international environmental law, national law, and a cases study examining the Songhua River case of transboundary environment pollution in China and Russia. The authors identify several mechanisms to address transboundary pollution problems including the use of domestic law, international conventions, cluster litigation, and environmental impact assessments.

In the first part of the text, the discussion focuses on the role of international environmental law and its capabilities in remedying transboundary pollution. Andre Nollkaemper discusses the emerging phenomenon of ‘cluster litigation’ in environmental cases; this is a process whereby a victim can attempt to seek reparations for the same issue at different levels including domestic courts, human rights courts, forums for interstate claims and non-judicial forums. Examining regulation at the international scale, James Harrison discusses the role of conventions. He attributes their lack of success to overlapping mandates and their inability to regulate within the fragmentation of international law. However, Harrison does highlight the importance of treaties in providing constitutional norms in the international legal system. The chapters in this section also establish that one of the main difficulties is identifying the source of blame in transboundary pollution cases whether at the local, national or international level. Furthermore, the authors establish that the economy-environment debate is becoming a central conflict in legal frameworks. As an example, the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is examined for its attempt to establish formulaic national jurisdiction of the oceans for economic zones while vaguely promoting prevention, response and liability for marine pollution.

In the next section, the authors discuss components of national law and various cases of its application to international environmental issues. Throughout the section, the Trail Smelter case between the United States and Canada is held as a landmark instance whereby national civil law was applied to a transboundary pollution problem in support of the victims. Faure and Bethem argue that the role of national tort law is in identifying the liability of civil and environmental damages; however, the complicated issue of causation and the limited availability of regulatory regimes remain a problem. They propose that international law can be used directly or as an aid to guide national law in transboundary pollution cases. Moreover, the section authors observe that the establishment of ‘wrongfulness’ in environmental liability cases is often subject to court decisions based on court views on international and national norms. In chapter eight, Jack Jacobs describes the emerging importance of environmental impact assessment and its move from an underutilized component of precautionary regulation to a place in customary law.

For the case study, the Songhua River example is assessed for the national and international response in addressing a major transboundary pollution emergency. The disaster began when the PetroChina Company accidentally released toxic chemicals that ended up in the Songhua River, which is highly utilized for drinking water by both Chinese and Russian residents. This case is a key example for analyzing the role of the state and the availability of an international contingency plan, financial capabilities to address emergencies, and cooperation among nations. Through the national attempts at mitigation and legal response to this environmental disaster, the case shows that China has established little capacity to deal with these problems or develop precautionary measures that value the environment over the economy.

To conclude the text, Faure and Yin reexamine the goals of the book in light of the themes that emerged in the chapters. They emphasize the growing importance of international legal norms in facilitating civil litigation, using domestic law in transboundary pollution cases, and the phenomenon of cluster litigation in victim reparations. Furthermore, they highlight the Chinese case as important to understanding national legal responses to a transboundary environmental disaster in a country that currently undervalues the environment.

This text could be a helpful resource for those interested in transboundary pollution and means to approach it legally at the national or international level. Overall, the authors accomplish their goal of presenting examples of integrated approaches to legal remedies in transboundary pollution. They also firmly establish China and the Songhua River as an important case study in environmental liability. While the authors attempt to include chapters on many of the important components inherent in transboundary pollution, the discussion is at times weakly organized in its repetition of case details and gaps in explanation of environmental regulation and law. In the second part of the text the authors attempt to discuss national law in transboundary pollution; however the chapters jump from a discussion on national liability law, to joint governance, to environmental impact assessments without addressing the links or overlaps between these mechanisms. Marjan Peeters’ discussion of joint governance in chapter secen is seemingly out of place with her argument that the limitation of law may be temporally and structurally beneficial in environmental governance. While this may be true, the point seems lost in a text that seeks to identify integrated legal remedies. A final critique of the text is the coverage of the case study. Through the discussion of the Songhua River case, it seems clear that the Chinese legal system is not currently capable of dealing with environmental problems; however the discussion of China’s legal framework is incomplete, focusing primarily on emergency management and not fleshing out more of the domestic environmental law.

Despite some loose ends in China and International Environmental Liability, Faure and Ying have put together a thought-provoking set of chapters to discuss the significance of transboundary pollution problems and its complex yet underdeveloped place in law. Furthermore, China is an important case as a global economic giant with an important environmental role. The topic is of clear importance to many, including lawyers, legal scholars, and environmentalists.