On the Frontlines
Making Decisions in Chinese Civil Environmental Lawsuits
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6089790 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel E Stern (0000-0001-9745-3433, Harvard University Press, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 0-0 |
| Publication date | 2009-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0265-8240 • E-ISSN: 1467-9930 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9930.2009.00310.x |
| OpenAlex | W2119977725 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 24 |
| References cited | 44 |
This article looks at forty-two decisions in civil pollution cases in China as a window onto judges' political logic and the accompanying implications for environmental enforcement. The starting point is a typology of judicial decision making in one-party states based on two dimensions of decisions: the degree of legal formality (e.g., how closely judges adhere to the letter of the law) and individual autonomy (e.g., judges' power to make decisions in individual cases). Mapping pollution decisions onto this typology highlights shifting judicial strategy. While Chinese judges typically comply with instructions when the political pressure is dialed up, a combination of shifting incentives, uncertainty about the law, and political ambiguity can also allow de facto discretion in low-profile, run-of-the-mill cases. Everyday cases tend to cluster under the rubric of "rough justice" in which judges weigh competing political priorities and aim for a livable compromise that dents but upholds the status quo. This sample of cases also shows judges occasionally innovating at the margins by offering new legal interpretations or validating new types of claims. Although Chinese courts remain weak tools for environmental protection, limited innovation suggests that they can help nudge along local incremental social change
Ambiguity · Discretion · Formality · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Status quo · Typology · Environmental law and policy · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law in Society and Culture
The Green Bench
Governing Art Districts
The politics of water in rural China
Connecting Supervisor Procedural Justice to Perceived Tensions With Litigants Among Chinese Judges
Ruling before the Law
Land titling as a conflict remedy or driver? Analyzing institutional outcomes through latent and manifest conflicts in China’s forest sector
Mining institutions, contention and credibility
China's Responsiveness to Internet Opinion
Organizational governance and prosecutorial attitudes
Managing judges mathematically
Law and Courts in Authoritarian Regimes
Field Research on Law in Conflict Zones and Authoritarian States
Reforming China's multi-level environmental governance
International Arbitration and Judicial Politics in Authoritarian States
Finding the “Humanity” in Human Rights
Maintaining Stability by Law
Double Whammy
Citizenship in the shadow of law
A Genuine Empowerment or Continued Authority Enhancement? Dynamic Relationships of Community Organisations with the State in Chinese Environmental Justice
The Impact of Culture on Chinese Judges' Decision-Making in Contractual Damages Cases
The politics of industrial pollution in rural China
The Role of Corporate Political Connections in Commercial Lawsuits
Reorienting Regulation
Inquisitorial Adjudication and Institutional Constraints in Chinese Civil Justice
Judges beyond Politics in Democracy and Dictatorship
China's Long March toward Rule of Law
Judicial Review in New Democracies
Courts
Judges and Their Audiences
Credit and Blame
Rule by Law
Rightful Resistance in Rural China
Constituting Democracy
Minding the Law
What Do Judges and Justices Maximize? (The Same Thing Everybody Else Does)
Children of a Lesser God
On the settlement mechanism of irregular disputes in China
State in Society
Harmony Ideology
The Struggle for Constitutional Power
Of farming chemicals and cancer deaths
Routinization of Divorce Law Practice in China
Local People's Congresses and Governing China Local People's Congresses in China
From Local Experiments to National Policy
The People's Court in Transition
Watchdogs or attack dogs? The role of the Russian courts and the central election commission in the resolution of electoral disputes
Beyond Global Convergence
Political and Social Reform in China
The Judge in a Communist State
The Civil Law Tradition
Doing Courts Justice? Studying Judicial Politics in Latin America
The Judicialization of Mega-Politics and the Rise of Political Courts
Magistrates, Magistrates Courts, and Social Change
Reforming China's Civil Procedure
The Role of Constitutional Courts in the Establishment and Maintenance of Democratic Systems of Government
Judicial Independence in an Authoritarian Regime
Implementation of Chinese Environmental Law
| Unique citing works | 24 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,41 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2025 (17) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 23 |