Recently, at the invitation of the Ministry of Justice, Beijing Cyan Law Firm (“Cyan”) provided professional comments on the Regulations on Compensation for Ecological Protection (Draft for Review) submitted by the National Development and Reform Commission to the State Council for deliberation.
After receiving the request letter for comments from the Ministry of Justice, Cyan immediately set up a special working team, which was composed of several experts. After prudent examination of the Regulations on Compensation for Ecological Protection (Draft for Review) and its related documents, the team members contributed their broad valuable experience in relevant practice, and developed a professional opinion letter, which has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice for consideration.
Cyan submitted a total of 30 comments to the Ministry of Justice, and each of the comments was accompanied with amendment suggestions and detailed reasons. Cyan’s comments mainly cover the following aspects:
- To further clarify the division of responsibilities between the central government and local governments;
- To further clarify the legislative purpose of each specific system;
- To further refine the relevant dispute resolution methods and government departments which are in charge of dispute resolution;
- It is suggested that the government should sign a written compensation agreement with the civil subject receiving compensation, clarify the rights and obligations of both parties in the compensation relationship, and agree on the liabilities for breach of contract and the methods of dispute resolution, etc.;
- Put forward suggestions on the relevant procedural matters based on practical experience, so as to further improve the operability of the Regulations on Compensation for Ecological Protection;
- Put forward suggestions on certain wordings, provision structure, and so forth.
Members of Cyan special working group:
- Wei Shi (Senior Counsel, Ph.D. in Law, Post-Doctorate Research Fellow in Economics)
- Wanhe Ye (Managing Partner, National First-grade Registered Constructing Engineer, Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), Arbitrator of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission)
- Hanlong Hong (Paralegal, Ph.D. Candidate in Law)