Kunshan People’s Court recently issued the first environmental protection injunction against Kunshan Genben Hardware Co., Ltdand issued an administrative ruling, allowing Kunshan environmental protection bureau to enforce administrative penalties, including fines and injunctions.

In 2013, the company was punished for illegally discharging water pollutants, building anti-air pollution facilities, storing hazardous wastes and causing an environmental impact on construction projects without the bureau’s approval. However, the company neither filed an administrative review and litigation nor performed its obligations, according to the written decision of the administrative penalty. Accordingly the bureau resorted to the court to enforce the ruling, which the court approved by issuing an environmental protection injunction.

“On receiving the application, we launched a one-week investigation,” said Li Shiyin, presiding judge of the environmental protection collegiate bench of Kunshan People’s Court, “and we confirmed that it met the requirements for enforcing an injunction, so we did it.” Li also said that according to China’s Administrative Coercion Law, if the party concerned fails to perform the injunction within the time limit, the court is entitled to impose coercive measurements including fines and detention of the company’s legal representative.

After the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate’s judicial interpretation of the applicable law of environmental pollution criminal cases came out, Kunshan’s environmental protection bureau in cooperation with public security organs has dealt with several environmental crimes quickly and severely. In the future, the environmental protection bureau will strengthen its supervision and heavily punish any unlawful act.