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Law and language: issues related to legal translation and interpretation of Chinese rules on tortious liability of environmental pollution

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Abstract

The history of Chinese modern legal development—and of the knowledge of this process by foreigners—is also a history of issues of inter-lingual communications. Today, in a world of growing legal contaminations, a higher level of attention and care should be devoted to these issues. This paper will start exploring such issues focusing on rules on liability for environmental pollution provided for in the 2009 Tort law. These rules offer interesting perspectives of observation on this matter, belonging to one of the most ground-breaking law sectors in global law and, at the same time, being deeply interwoven into the taxonomy and the basic legal concepts of the private and procedural law systems that, since the last century, China has been framing on the basis of Western legal tradition models. Problems in legal translations of law provisions and in interpretations of the general categories and principles referred to by statutory rules will be raised and analysed.

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Notes

  1. For an introduction to this history see Cao 2004, pp. 161–184.

  2. Starting from what is considered the first official act of introduction of Western legal terminology into the Chinese language, i.e. the translation of the Wheaton’s Elements of International Law. See Liu 2004, pp.108–138.

  3. When the scene of legal transplants in China has become increasingly crowded by legal actors (both collective actors—such as national governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, business and partisan organizations, professional communities, and academic institutes—and individual actors—such as legal experts, judges, lawyers, legislative staff, administrative personnel, and scholars) and law models (both hard and soft law models, derived from national, international and supranational sources of law).

    For a general overview of the legal transplants literature see Graziadei 2009; see also, with a focus on the Chinese legal reforms’ process, Peerenboom 2006 and Chen 2011.

  4. On comparative law, circulation of legal models, language and legal translation, the studies that are contributing to the renovation of the field include at least: Gemar and Kasirer 2005, Legrand 2005, Sacco 1990, 1991, Steiner 1998.

  5. This option, from a comparative point of view, follows the approach that is common to some European legal systems. See Pozzo 1996.

  6. 中华人民共和国侵权责任法 (The Tort Law of the People’s Republic of China), adopted during the 12th session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on December 26, 2009 and entered into force on July 1, 2010, available on line at http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2009-12/26/content_1497435.htm. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  7. In this paper I used the English translation of the Chinese Tort Law that can be found in the website of the The Procedural Law Research Institution at China University of Political Science and Law: http://www.procedurallaw.cn/english/law/201001/t20100110_300173.html. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  8. 中华人民共和国民法通则 (The General Principles of Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China), enacted on April 12, 1986, and effective from January 1, 1987, available on line at http://www.npc.gov.cn/wxzl/wxzl/2000-12/06/content_4470.htm. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  9. 中华人民共和国环境保护法, (Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China), revised and enacted on December 26,1989, entered into force immediately, available on line at http://www.envir.gov.cn/law/envir.html. Last accessed on January 31, 2014. The ‘polluter pays’ principle, even if not expressly incorporated in the Statute, was reflected in some provisions, such as that in Article 41, which stated: “A unit that has caused an environmental pollution hazard shall have the obligation to eliminate it and make compensation to the unit or individual that suffered direct losses. A dispute over the liability to make compensation or the amount of compensation may, at the request of the parties, be settled by the competent department of environmental protection administration or another department invested by law with power to conduct environmental supervision and management. If a party refuses to accept the decision on the settlement, it may bring a suit before a people’s court. The party may also directly bring a suit before the people’s court”.

  10. 国务院关于进一步加强环境保护工作的决定 (Decision of the State Council on Further Strengthening the Work of Environment Protection), issued and effective from December 5, 1990, available on line at http://www.people.com.cn/item/flfgk/gwyfg/1990/112511199041.html. Last accessed on January 31, 2014; 国务院关于环境保护若干问题的决定 (Decision of the State Council on Several Issues Concerning Environmental Protection), issued and effective from August 3, 1996, according to which polluters must pay pollution victims even if discharge meets government standards, available on line at http://www.envir.gov.cn/info/news/No1.html. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  11. 中华人民共和国水污染防治法, (Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law) revised on August 2, 2008 and effective from June 1, 2008, art. 87, http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2008-02/28/content_905050.htm; 中华人民共和国固体废物污染环境防治法 (Solid Waste Pollution Control Law) revised on December 29, 2004, and effective from April 1, 2005, art. 86, http://www.gov.cn/flfg/2005-06/21/content_8289.htm. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  12. 最高人民法院关于民事诉讼证据的若干规定 (SPC Regulations Regarding Evidence for Civil Lawsuits), issued on December 21, 2001 and effective from January, 1 2002. http://www.court.gov.cn/bsfw/sszn/xgft/201004/t20100426_4533.htm. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  13. See Yang and Moser 2011. For a comment on the implementation of the rules previously in force see Van Rooij 2010, pp. 63–68.

  14. These are words by Kelley 2012, pp. 543–544.

  15. Id., quoting Joel Tickner et al., The Precautionary Principle in Action: A Handbook (1st ed. 1998), available at http://www.calepa.ca.gov/envjustice/Documents/2003/Appendices/AppendixI.pdf. Last Accessed January 31, 2014. Moreover, the precautionary principle is deemed to encourage governments to address issues concerning human health and the environment in advance of science proving the causal link. Cfr. Percival 2006, p. 23.

  16. Lü 2003, p 31. Osaka 2009, pp. 30–31.

  17. On the Umwelthaftungsgesetz, see Pozzo 1994, pp. 326–333.

  18. The Civil law office of the Legislative commission of the Standing Committe of NPC 2010, p. 280.

  19. The two others being Austrian and Michigan State laws.

  20. This is the translation of the rule given by the Institute for Transnational Law-Foreign Law Translation, School of Law, The University of Texas Austin, available at https://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/transnational/work_new/german/case.php?id=1396. Last Accessed January 31, 2014.

  21. On this law drafting style see, extensively, Ajani 2007.

  22. See Cao 2012.

  23. Stern 2010, pp. 79, 85.

  24. Lü et al. 2011.

  25. See, for example: 曾令军与贵阳双辉钢铁有限公司、贵州丝达矿产有限公司等水污染损害赔偿纠纷案, (Zeng Lingjun vs. Guiyang Shuanghui Iron and Steel Co., Guizhou Sida Mining Co. and Guizhou Tongjitang Pharmaceutical Co. water pollution dispute) 贵州省清镇市人民法院 (Qingzhen City Guizhou Province People’s Court) (2011) 清环保民初字第2号。This case is published on web site of the People’s Court of Qingzhen City and is available at http://www.gzqz.gov.cn/Html/2012_10_23/3250_3592_2012_10_23_77242.html. Last accessed on January 31, 2014. 李某与湖南某建设工程有限公司环境污染侵权纠纷, Li Mou vs. Hunan Mou Construction Company environment pollution dispute, 岳塘 区湘潭市湖南省市人民法院 (Yuetang District Xiangtan City Hunan Province People’s Court), (2011) 岳民初字第26号. This case is available at http://www.pkulaw.cn/fulltext_form.aspx?Db=pfnl&Gid=117863381&keyword=&EncodingName=&Search_Mode=accurate. Last accessed on January 31, 2014.

  26. In the Supreme People’s Court final judgment we find the direct application of the reversal of the burden of proof of causation: 浙江省平湖师范农场特种养殖场与嘉兴市步云染化厂、嘉兴市金禾化工有限公司等水污染损害赔偿纠纷案, (Aquatic product farm of Pinghu Normal farm Zhejiang province vs. Jiaxin Buyun chemical factory, Jiaxin Jinhe chemical factory etc. water pollution tort dispute) 中华人民共和国最高人民法院 Supreme People’s Court of the People Republic of China (2006) 民二提字第5号民事判决书.The case can be found in Jiang 2010, pp. 532–542.

  27. That are connected to long-lasting systemic problems in the Chinese legal process affecting civil environmental litigation, such as the problem of wide regional variations in the judicial practice and the problem of local protectionism, the many obstacles to potential plaintiffs set up by civil procedure rules, the costs of filing cases and, last but not least, the legal and material difficulties—that actually across all the legal systems—of proving causation and damages in pollution related compensation claims.

  28. Legal categories and taxonomies take on a connotative function in this regard, leading to the inclusion or the exclusion of certain elements from the designated set and therefore from the subject-matter under discussion. See Gambaro Gambaro 2007 p. 8.

  29. See Zhang 2011, pp. 284–285; Blomquist 2012, pp. 1065–1066, quoting Deng Haifeng, China, in Climate Change Liability: Transnational Law and Practice, (Richard Lord, Silke Goldberg, Lavanya Rajamani & Jutta Brunnee eds. 2012, at 112. Pozzo 2012a), p. 302.

  30. For an overview of the different position in this regard see Hu 2013; Wang et al. 2010, pp. 655–656; Wang 2011, p. 7; Yang 2010, p. 420; Yang 2003, p. 137–139. Lü 2003, p. 28.

  31. Actually, the drafting group of the tort law worked on the basis of “大陆法为体,英美法为用”, which means “grounding on Civil law while absorbing common law”. See Yang 2002.

  32. See Pozzo 2012a, p. 302.

  33. For an overview of the main scholar’s interpretation of the two concepts of “strict liability” 严格责任 and “no-fault liability” 无过错责任, see Yang 2011, p. 144; Wang 1991, p. 53; Zhang 1998, p. 64; Zhang, and Mei 2008, p. 55.

  34. See Pozzo 2012b, pp. 291–293.

  35. For a deepen reflection on this, with regard to art. 66 of the Tort law see Hu 2013

  36. See Pozzo 2012a, p. 304.

  37. On this issue and on the two official works quoted in the text, see Qu (2013).

  38. Standard Legal Terms Dictionary, (March 2013 Edition).

  39. Ibidem.

  40. As a first introduction to this topic see, Sacco and Castellani 1999, Ioriatti Ferrari 2007.

  41. See Timoteo and Zhou 2014.

  42. Being the negotiation that rests at the very heart of any process of translation, as it is well-explained by Umberto Eco: see Eco 2003.

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  1. School of Law, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 22, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Marina Timoteo

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Timoteo, M. Law and language: issues related to legal translation and interpretation of Chinese rules on tortious liability of environmental pollution. China-EU Law J 4, 121–133 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12689-014-0047-7

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