Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on Maximising the Function of Environmental and Resource Trials and Punishing the Crime of Illegally Mining Mineral Resources

This policy document establishes the legal framework for the punishment of crimes regarding the illegal mining of strategically scarce mineral resources, aiming at effectively maintaining the safety of mineral resources and the ecology and environment. It highlights the enforcement system regarding illegal mining established by Article 343 of the Criminal Law and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Illegal or Destructive Mining, and prescribes guidelines for civil, criminal, and administrative penalties for non-compliance, where the perpetrators of illegal mining shall bear the corresponding criminal and civil liability for the damage caused to the ecological environment.  The policy document stipulates the requirements for assessing the impact of illegal mining on the environment, providing that severe damages to the environment and serious ecological consequences are discretionary aggravating factors and active restorations of the environment are discretionary mitigating factors.

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