Recommendation and brief comment on a recent post by Charlie McElwee at China Environmental Law. I’ve probably been remiss in saying that this blog is one of the best issue-focused China blogs out there. Very substantive and thorough. It helps to be either a law or environmental wonk. Note that Charlie works for a competitor, so my support here should be taken as quite sincere. Here’s a bit from the post:

Remember that in China under most environmental statutes once the plaintiff establishes an injury and contact with the defendant’s pollutants, the burden shifts to the defendant to prove that its pollutants did not cause the plaintiff’s injuries.

The post is about environmental torts, and the reason I’m interested in this includes the following:

1. China’s existing environmental problems are well-documented and widespread.

2. This is a litigious society, much more than a lot of commentators believe.

3. Information is cheap and easy to disseminate these days, allowing lawyers and potential plaintiffs to connect, for plaintiffs to connect with one another, and for all parties to learn about potential problem sites and the science behind potential claims.

4. There are a lot of young lawyers running around here looking for work, many of which do not have the requisite training to do high-level international business transactions but who may be attracted to a bit of windmill tilting.

5. Litigation here is relatively cheap, and the local attorneys mentioned in point #4 above are certainly not charging hundreds of dollars an hour.

Stay tuned — we will have to see what’s in the cards with respect to legal reform and the government’s view towards allowing these types of suits to move forward.