Justice for pollution victims in China and Australia

The concept of environmental justice is well developed in North America, but is still in its evolutionary stages in most other jurisdictions. This article seeks to explore two jurisdictions where claims for environmental justice are likely to be seen in the future as a consequence of polluting industries. We focus on avenues open to private citizens to enforce environmental justice. The first jurisdiction considered is China, where the Tort Liability Law was introduced in 2010 to improve the regulatory framework for private citizens seeking environmental justice. The second jurisdiction is Australia, where no specific tort laws exist to help pollution victims. On the basis of Christian Barry's vulnerability presumption principle, we argue for the development of environmental justice avenues in Australia that draw inspiration from China's novel approach, while noting that significant implementation challenges exist in upholding Chinese pollution laws