Tribunal to hear environmental cases

Specialized court would improve efficiency and ensure quality verdicts

A special court may be set up to hear disputes relating to the environment and ecology in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, to ensure the quality of verdicts and improve coordinated developments in the area, an official of China's top court said.

As the region with the country's worst air pollution, the number of environmental disputes in the cluster has been rising in recent years, "which is a major reason that we are planning to explore a new way to deal with such litigation," said Yan Maokun, director of the research department under the Supreme People's Court.