CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Rongliang Wu, Mei Wan, Qirong Huang and Xueqi Huang, Jin Mao Law Firm
X-Ray Radiation Safety Licences According to the Regulations on the Safety and Pro- tection of Radioisotopes and Radiation Devices, an enterprise that produces, sells or uses radiation and radiological devices must obtain a Radiation Safety Licence in accordance with the provisions therein. The licence is valid for five years. Hazardous Waste Business/Collection Licences According the Law of Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, enterprises engaged in collecting, storing, utilising and disposing of hazardous waste must apply for a Hazardous Waste Business Licence or a Hazardous Waste Collection Licence, in accordance with relevant state regulations. The former is valid for five years and the latter for three years. 4.3 Regulators’ Approach to Policy and Enforcement The regulatory approach includes environmental per- mits, environmental administrative supervision and inspection, and environmental administrative penal- ties. An environmental permit is an administrative decision made by an environmental law enforcement agency (in response to an application by an individual or organi- sation), after examination, to permit the applicant to engage in a certain activity. Environmental administrative supervision and inspec- tion refers to actions taken by the environmental law enforcement agencies in order to achieve the function of environmental management. The administrative component determines whether environmental pro- tection laws and regulations and specific administra- tive requirements are being complied with. Environmental administrative penalties are administra- tive sanctions imposed by a specific environmental law enforcement agency on a citizen or organisation that violates environmental laws and regulations. The penalties are divided into behavioural penalties, property penalties and warnings. This penalty system, combined with ecological damage compensation mechanisms, ensures accountability for non-com-
pliance and reinforces the authority of environmental policies. 4.4 Transferring Permits/Approvals According to the Administrative Licensing Law, envi- ronmental permits/approvals obtained in accordance with the law shall not be transferred. 4.5 Consequences of Breaching Permits/ Approvals Violations of environmental permits or approvals can lead to administrative penalties being imposed by the environmental protection authorities. These pen- alties may include fines, warnings, or orders to cease operations, revoke or suspend the permits/approvals or rectify the violations. In cases of severe violations, individuals or entities responsible may face criminal charges. This can result in imprisonment and substan- tial fines. Violators may also be required to remediate environmental damage or pay compensation for envi- ronmental damage caused by their actions. (For more details, see 5.1 Key Types of Liability .) China’s environmental legal liability covers three types: criminal, administrative and civil, with liable subjects including enterprises, enterprise managers and indi- viduals who commit pollution or damage acts. The Draft Ecological and Environmental Code (Second Reading) has revised the limitation period for admin- istrative violations, extending the period for violations causing harmful consequences such as environmental pollution and ecological damage from the previous two years to five years. Environmental Criminal Liability Environmental criminal liability mainly involves three crimes: environmental pollution (Criminal Law, Arti- cle 338), destroying computer information systems (Article 226), and issuing false EIA or environmental monitoring certificates (Article 229). 5. Environmental Liability 5.1 Key Types of Liability Per the Criminal Law Amendment (XI) of 2020, enter- prises and their managers can be held criminally liable
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