New regulations open legal doors for environmental NGOs

Environmental NGOs will get stronger legal support and greater power to sue companies and individuals who violate the revised Environ-mental Protection Law, as part of a national campaign to curb air pollution, said the country's top court.

A judicial interpretation on the handling of civil environmental cases involving public-interest litigation, released by The Supreme People's Court, took effect on Wednesday.

"Under the previous regulations, many environmental cases were rejected by the courts because of stringent requirements on NGOS to prove they were legally recognized, so the new rules are expected to solve this problem," Sun Jungong, the court's top spokesman, said on Tuesday.