Environmental Liability within the European Context: Definitory Problems

Since the very beginning, the EU environmental legislation has been facing the wide divergences existing in the environmental legislations and legal processes of the Member States. In this regard, it is sufficient to remember that the concept of “environment” has itself different meanings within the different national legislative contexts, ranging from an “ecocentric” definition of environment, which includes natural resources as such, to a more “anthropocentric” concept, which refers to a few striking aspects of environment considered the most relevant to human health. Being the different levels of European environmental law, both national and supernational, amongst the main models of reference for the Chinese law reforms, a deeper knowledge of the dynamics of evolution of the main European environmental liability law regimes, in a comparative perspective, shall be helpful to share in a better way Chinese environmental liability rules. The paper will analyze the main regulation’s practices and definitions enacted within the European Union with regards to environmental liability, throughout a comparative study aiming at contributing to trace a most advanced framework for comparative analysis between Europe and China.