Transplanting Civil Law Models in China. Compensation of Personal Damages Caused by Environmental Pollution

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the problems that may arise in transplanting rules modelled on civil law models in China. The field of research concerned is that of the compensation of personal damages caused by environmental pollution. We all know, in fact, that China endures high levels of environmental pollution and that the Chinese government has enacted, over the last 20 years, a number of legal provisions modelled on civil law rules aimed at compensating tortious damages, included those caused by environmental pollution. The chapter opens with a brief outline of the different theories on legal transplants and their theoretical feasibility, then moves on to introduce the reader to the main legal provisions enacted by the Chinese government in the field of the compensation of tortious damages, in general and in cases of environmental harms. Next, the actual application of these rules by courts and other entities is investigated, to ascertain the strengths and the shortcomings of the implementation of provisions concerning the compensation of damages modelled on civil law models in China and their actual capacity to shape the Chinese legal system.