Over 120,000 volunteers assist prosecutors in public-interest litigation

More than 120,000 volunteers have registered with Chinese prosecutorial bodies to assist in public-interest litigation cases, enhancing both the efficiency and quality of the work, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top prosecutorial authority, announced on Friday, coinciding with International Volunteer Day.

In 2021, the SPP developed a procuratorial cloud platform for volunteers and set up a functional module for volunteers' performance of duties in the "12309 China Procuratorate Network" WeChat mini program, facilitating volunteers' participation in the supervision and handling of public interest litigation cases.

The SPP stated that it will continue to optimize the development of its volunteer teams and bases, improve supporting systems and mechanisms, and unite efforts to achieve greater public interest protection with higher efficiency and lower costs. On Friday, it also highlighted several notable cases where volunteers assisted in public-interest cases.

One such case involved a 2.6-kilometer-long ditch in Beidaihe New District, Hebei province, which was plagued by issues such as the direct discharge of domestic sewage from nearby villages, leakage from aging sewage pipelines, and the illegal discharge of wastewater from scallop processing, resulting in the water being persistently black and foul-smelling, with severe water pollution.

Despite efforts by local government departments under the supervision of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Hebei Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, the pollution persisted, harming public interests.

In April, the district's procuratorate identified the case and enlisted professional volunteers, including professor Zhuo Yuguo from Hebei University of Environmental Engineering, to assist in the investigation. Through real-time core indicator monitoring and sediment sample analysis, they identified three major pollution sources, providing a scientific foundation for the case.

Subsequently, the procuratorate filed an administrative public-interest lawsuit against the district's ecological environment branch and organized a consultation meeting. Based on watershed hydrological models and pollutant migration simulations, volunteers proposed a phased governance plan, providing key technical support for identifying supervision gaps and determining rectification paths.

On April 30, the procuratorate issued a procuratorial suggestion urging the branch to fulfill its supervisory duties and comprehensively rectify the issue. The branch formulated a plan but faced a 3.11 million yuan ($440,000) funding gap. Later, the procuratorate proposed using ecological restoration funds from illegal marine fishing cases for Guandaogou's pollution treatment, with volunteers conducting feasibility studies.

After the project was launched in June, volunteers continued to provide technical guidance. Upon its completion on Sept 10, volunteers took part in the on-site evaluation. Comprehensive assessments and biological indicators confirmed that the water quality improved by two levels, reaching Class IV, which is suitable for general industrial use.