【作者】 文同爱；

【导师】 蔡守秋；

【作者基本信息】 武汉大学 ， 环境与资源保护法学， 2004， 博士

【摘要】 环境法是一个正在给传统法律带来革命性变革的法律部门。环境法学者们热切地关注这种变化，并在积极探讨有关的问题。环境法的保护对象是这种探讨的一个切入点。笔者运用法学研究的各种方法，努力解决这么几个问题：环境法的保护对象是什么?环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位是什么?环境法保护对象为什么不断发展?环境法保护对象还应当怎样发展?(一)环境法保护对象是什么?环境法保护对象是传统法律的保护对象长期发展的结果，既有继承，又有发展，最重要的发展是从人域范围内的当代人权利等扩大到了环境资源和未来世代的权利。环境法保护对象，是环境法明示或默示规定予以保护的主体、客体或物、权利以及社会关系等，或者说，是环境法明示或默示予以保护的自然因素和社会因素，这是广义的环境法保护对象理论主张。环境法保护对象可以根据不同的标准分为许多种。这些标准有：第一，以法律渊源为标准；第二，以法律明确规定的保护等级为标准；第三，以环境法保护对象的表现形式为标准；第四，以环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位为标准：第五，以是否已经被法律规定为标准；第六，以法律规定时该对象是否已经存在为标准。例如：以法律渊源为标准，可分为以下几种：国际环境条约的保护对象、宪法规定的保护对象、环境基本法规定的保护对象、环境单行法规定的保护对象、环境法规规章规定的保护对象，等等。再如，以法律明确规定的保护等级为标准，可分为以下几种：重点保护对象和一般保护对象；国家保护对象、地方保护对象，其中国家保护对象又分为国家一级保护对象、国家二级保护对象；特殊保护对象和非特殊保护对象，等等。环境法保护对象不同于环境法的调整对象。环境法的调整对象是因合理开发、利用、保护、改善环境所产生的社会关系，简称为环境社会关系。这种社会关系的产生和发展变化始终离不开人类环境和环境问题，它包括人与人之间的关系和人与自然之间的关系。环境法保护对象则包含人、环境资源、权利，也包含在开发利用环境资源中形成的人与人之间、人与自然之间的良好关系。环境法调整对象的概念主要说明了环境法这个法律部门的特色，环境法保护对象概念主要说明了有关因素的法律地位。环境法保护对象不同于环境法的控制对象。环境法的控制对象是指为了实现对保护对象的保护，环境法律明确规定要加以控制(包括禁止、限制、消除)的行为、现象或物质等，包含防治对象、禁止或限制从事的资源开发利用行为、污染和破坏环境的行为等等，也可以分为自然因素和社会因素两个种类。(二)环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位是什么?环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位，是指保护对象享有的特定法律待遇，是环境法对某种对象的性质、重要性、价值、意义、作用等方面的确认，反映人们对它们的认识、态度以及对它们进行保护的力度。目前来看，环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位在立法上或法学理论上有下面几种：一是财产，即环境法保护对象都可以归结为财产性质，这在理论上可以叫做“财产说”；二是客体，即环境法保护对象都是环境法律关系的客体，这在理论上可以叫做“客体说”；三是主体，即环境法保护对象是环境法律关系的主体，这在理论上可以叫做“主体说”；四是其他地位，如公共物品、环境资产、关系、秩序、制度、利益等等。环境法保护对象的法律属性或地位，总的可以分为三个等级：一是公共物品、财产、资产地位，这些都是在经济活动中利用环境资源时对其给予适当承认的一种地位，比对环境资源视而不见、视为无主物或自由资源地位要高一些，能够给环境资源带来一定的保护，不过在环境法中是最低的地位；其次是客体、秩序、利益地位，这是强调给予保护的法律地位，要求对利用行为施加更多限制，比公共物品、财产、资产的地位高；再次是关系、主体地位，这是给予保护和尊重的法律地位，理所当然是最高的法律地位。如果要加强对环境的法律保护，真正实现人与自然关系的和谐，应当根据开发利用和保护的实际需要，尽量提高保护对象的法律地位，使得人类能够尽可能多地尊重环境，尽量减少因为轻视而对环境造成不必要的损害。(三)环境法保护对象为什么不断发展?世界各国的环境法保护对象以及国际环境法的保护对象都在快速发展。美国1969年《环境政策法》确定了其保护对象的基本框架：其一，人，包括当代人和“子孙后代”；其二，人的安全和健康、福利以及环境权；其三，“高度的生活水平和广泛舒适的生活”；其四，“环境与自然生命物”以及各种资源：其五，“国家历史、文化和自然等方面的重要遗产”；其六，人类与环境之间的和谐关系。这一框架涵盖已经很广，代表了一种较高的环境立法成就，得到一些环境单行法的进一步具体化。美国20世纪90年代兴起的环境正义立法则把有色人种这类环境弱者的保护提到高度。日本环境法重在污染防治，保护生活环境和人体健康，以后保护对象范围不断扩大，表现为环境的外延扩大，保护未来人的利益，还声称要保护国际环境。俄罗斯则使用一种新颖的提法——生态法的保护对象，包括：天然生态系统；臭氧层；微生物；遗传基因；土地；地下资源；水；森林；大气；动物界；自然景观；国家自然禁区；国家自然保护区；国家公园；自然公园：自然遗迹；树木公园和植物园；医疗保健地和疗养地，等等。我国环境法的保护对象在1992年以前，主要是生活环境、生态环境、人民健康等；1989年制定的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》科学地界定了环境，明确了环境法保护的环境范围。随着可持续发展战略的推行，新的环境法不断产生，保护对象也不断增多，如增加了生态环境承载力等新概念。国际环境法的保护对象经历了一个从点到线、由线到面、再从面到立体的发展过程，对应着国际环境法发展的三个时期：萌芽期、形成期、发展期。可持续发展原则在国际环境法上确立以后，国际环境法成为了可持续发展法律的推动者，大大推进了国际、国内法律的生态化，国际环境法保护对象的范围不断扩大：在人域内，扩大到当今世代全世界范围内的穷国、穷人和未来世代；在人域外，扩大到自然万物。促使环境法保护对象发展的原因，从人类主观意志和人类行为参与的程度来看，有些是人类并非有意要扩大环境法的保护对象或提升环境法保护对象的地位而在客观上做到了，称为第一层次原因，包括5个：环境问题的发展、生命的同构与互养、科学技术的发展、人与自然关系的发展、人与人关系的发展；而另外一些则是人类有意要扩大环境法的保护对象或者提升环境法保护对象的地位，称为第二层次原因，包括2个：环境意识的发展、人类为自然争取权利和主体资格的理论与实践的发展。(四)环境法保护对象还应当怎样发展?为了实现人类的可持续发展，环境法可以更合理地设定保护对象。首先，要贯彻环境正义这一基本原则，它包括环境公平和环境效率两个子原则。其次，要贯彻几条具体原则：自然生产力神圣不可侵犯原则，在开发利用环境资源中加强保护的原则，对环境弱者加强保护的原则，整体保护和个体保护相结合的原则。对我国的环境保护立法提出了一些建议，如可修改《宪法》，增加对自然人、未来人类环境权的规定，确认所有物种都享有生存权；可修改《环境保护法》这一环境保护基本法，对目前急需规定的重点保护对象作出框架性的规定，包括：人人享有免受污染的环境权；环境弱者受国家的特别保护；后代人的利益受保护；环境整体或者生态系统的各种环境要素及其具有的自然生产力受严格保护；所有动植物物种，不论其经济价值如何，都受保护；环境容量、环境承载能力受保护；人与人在开发、利用、保护环境资源中形成的和谐关系以及人与自然的和谐关系受保护；良好的生态秩序、生态安全、人们开发利用环境资源取得的合法财产受保护。从长远看，要立足于建设理想生态社会，促使人与自然融合成一个整体，人的权利和自然的权利都得到充分的保护，实现人类社会的可持续发展，大自然的繁荣壮大。更多还原

【Abstract】 Environmental law is the law branch which is bringing revolutionary change tothe traditional law. Environmental law scholars and researchers are earnestly payingattention to this kind of change, and are exploring relative problems. The problem,objects of protection of environmental law, is one of the entrance of such research.With many jurisprudential research methods, the author talcs to answer thesequestions: What are objects of protection of environmental law? What arc the legalattributes or status of objects of protection of environmental law? Why have objectsof protection of environmental law bccn developing continuously? And how shouldobjects of protection of environmental law go on developing?1. What are objects of protection of environmental law?Objects of protection of environmental law are the results of the longdevelopment of objects of protection of law. The most important development is theextension of the objects from contemporary people’s fights to environment, resourcesand fights of the future generations.Objects of protection of environmental law are what environmental lawstipulates to protect expressly or impliedly, including subjects, objects, properties,rights and social relations, etc. Or they are the natural elements and social elementsthat environmental law stipulates to protect. This is a theoretical view ofenvironmental law in its broad meaning.Objects of protection of environmental law can be classified into many kindsaccording to different criteria, which are the criterion of legal resources, theprotection ranks dcfined explicitly by the law, the forms of appearance of objects ofprotection of environmental law, the legal attributes or status of objects of protectionof environmental law, the criterion of whether or not they are deflncd byenvironmental law, the criterion of whether or not the objects are in existence whenenvironmental law stipulates them. For example, by the criterion of legal resources,objects of protection of environmental law can be divided into these kinds: objects ofprotection of international cnvironmcntal treaties, objects of protection of theconstitution, objects of protection of fundamental environmental law, objects ofprotection of spicific environmental law, and objects of protection of environmental administrative ordinances and local regulations. And by the criterion of the protectionranks defined explicitly by the law, the objects of protection of environmental law fallinto these catogades: key objects of protection and general objects of protection,national objects of protection and local objects of protection, and national objects ofprotection can be further divided into national objects of protection of the first rankand national objects of protection of the second rank, special objects of protection andnon-special objects of protection.Objects of protection of environmental law are different from regulated objectsof environmental law. Regulated objects of environmental law are social relations,which come into existence while people reasonably develop, utilize, protect andimprove the environment, and which can be simply called environmental socialrelations. These social relations include relations between man and man and relationsbetween man and nature, the existence and development of which can not be awayfrom human environment and environmental problems. Objects of environmental lawinclude man, environmental resources, fights, and they as well include good relationsbetween man and man and good relations between man and nature while peopledevelop and utilize environmenatal resources. The concept of regulated objects ofenvironmental law mainly explains the characteristics of the branch of environmentallaw, while the concept of objects of protection of environmental law mainly explainsthe legal status of relative elements.Objects of protection of environmental law are different from controlled objectsof environmental law. Controlled objects of environmental law are those conducts,phenomena or matters that environmental law stipulate explicitly to control in orderto realize the protection to objects of protection of environmental law, includingprevented and tackled objects, forbidden or restricted development and utilization ofresources, pollution and destruction of the environment, etc, which fall into twocatogaries: natural elements and social elements.2. What are the legal attributes or status of objects of protection ofenvironmental law?The legal attributes or status of objects of protection of environmental law refersto the special legal treatment of objects of protection, meaning the recognition byenvironmental law of an object’s attrbute, importance, value, significance, function, etc, showing people’s knowledge of, attitude toward and protection strength on them.At present, in environmental legislations or theories of law science, there are thefollowing kinds of legal attributes or status of objects of protection of environmentallaw: the first one, assets, meaning all objects of protection of environmental law canbe regarded as assets, which in therory is called "the view of assets"; the second,objects, meaning all objects of protection of environmental law can be regarded asobjects of legal relation, which in therory is called "the view of objects" ; the third,subjects, meaning all objects of protection of environmental law can be regarded assubjects of legal relation, which in therory is called "the view of subjects"; the fourth,other status, such as public goods, environmental capital, relation, order, regime,intersts, etc.The legal attributes or status of objects of protection of environmental law cangenerally be classified into three ranks: the first rank, public goods, assets andenvironmental capital. This rank is a recognition of some degree of environmentalresources while utilizing them in economic activities, which is a higher rank than thestatus that environmental resources are regarded as nothing, ownerless articles or freeassets, being able to offer some protection to environmental resources while it is thelowest status in environmental law; the second rank, objects, order, and interests. Thisrank stresses protection, requiring more restriction on utilizing conducts, and as aresult, it is higher than public goods, assets and environmental capital; the third rank,relation and subjects. This rank offers protection and esteem to environmentalresources, so certainly it is the highest status. If we want to strengthen legal protectionto the environment and realize the harmony relation between man and nature in itstrue meaning, we should raise the legal status of the environment as high as possibleaccording to our realistic demands in our development and protection of theenvironment, making man giving as much esteem as possible to the environment andreducing as much damage as possible to it because of underestimation of it.3. Why have objects of protection of environmental law been developingcontinuously?Objects of protection of environmental law of all the countries in the world andobjects of protection of international environmental law are developing rapidly.The United States’1969 Environmental Policy Act has defined the fundamental framework of its objects of protection, including: the first, human beings, meaningthe contemporary generation and future generations; the second, the safety, health,welfare and environmental fights of human beings; the third, high living standard andbroad convenient living; the fourth, the environment and natural living things and allkinds of resources; the fifth, important heritage of national history, culture and nature;the sixth, the harmonious relation between man and nature. This framework has awide covering, representing a high legislation achievment, and it is worked outconcrete by specific environmental legislation. In the 1990s in the United States, theenvironmental justice legislation movement took place, raising the protection to theweak in the environmental field such as the colored people. Japanese environmentallaw puts stress on pollution prevention and treatment, protecting living environmentand human health. Later, the scope of objects of protection is enlarged continuously,including the enlargement of the extention of the environment, the protection of theinterests of future generations, and the announcement of protection of internationalenvironment. Russia uses a new concept-objects of protection of ecological law,including natural ecosystem, the ozone layer, microorganism, genetic genes, land,underground resources, water, forests, atmosphere, the circle of animals, landscapes,national natural forbidden areas, national protective areas, national parks, naturalparks; forest parks and plant parks, medical healthcare sites and convalescent places,etc.Before 1992, objects of protection of environmental law of our country weremainly living environment, ecological environment and people’s health.Environmental Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was made in 1989,scientificly defined the environment, expressly determining the scope of theenvironment. With the enforcement of the sustainable development strategy, newenvironmental laws have continuously been being made, and so objects of protectionhave been increasing, e.g. a new concept, the carrying capacity of ecologicalenvironment has come into being.Objects of protection of international environmental law experienced such anenlarging process, as from some spots to a line, from a line to a plane and from aplane to a three-dimension, which is corresponding to the three stages, the embryonicstage, the forming stage and the developing stage of the development of international environmental law. After the principle of sustainable development was established init, the international environmental law has become the promoter of sustainablelegislation, vigorously making international law and national law more and moreecological, and continously enlarging the scope of objects of protection ofinternational environmental law, within the human domain, extention to all poorcotntries and poor people of today in the world and future generations; outside thehuman domain, extention to all the natural things.The causes of the development of objects of protection of environmental law,from the viewpoint of man’s will and his participation, are of two classifications. Oneis called the first classification, referring to those without man’s intention, includingthe development of environmental problems, the coexistence and mutual support ofliving things, the development of science and technology, the development of therelations between man and nature and the development of the relations between manand man. The other is called the second classification, referring to those with man’sintention, including the development of environmental consciousness, thedevelopment of the theory and practice of human struggle for nature’s fights andsubject qualification.4. How should objects of protection of environmental law go on developing?In order to realize man’s sustainable development, environmental law shoulddefine objects of protection more reasonbly.Firstly, environmental law should carry out the priciple of environmental justice,which consists of two branch principles, the principle of environmental equity and theprinciple of environmental efficiency.Secondly, environmental law should carry out several concrete principles, suchas, the principle that natural productive forces can not be violated, the principle ofstrenghening protection while developing and utilizing environmental resources, theprinciple of strenghening protection of the weak in the environmental field, theprinciple of combining the protection of the whole and the protection of theindividual.The author tries to put out some suggestions to our country’s environmentallegislation. We may amend the Constitution, adding that the natural person, the futuregenerations enjoy environmental rights, and all species have the fight to live. We may modify the Environmental Protection Law, defining the framework of the key objectsof protection needed to be protected earnestly, including everybody’s environmentalfight of the freedom from pollution; national special protection to the weak inenvironmental field; protection of the interests of future generations; strict protectionto the entirety of the environment; all the environmental elements and the naturalproductive forces; protection of all the species no matter of their economic value;protection of the environmental capacity and the environmental carrying capacity aswell; protection of good relations between man and man and good relations betweenman and nature while developing and utilizing environmental resources; protection ofgood ecological order, ecological safety and people’s legal property gained indeveloping and utilizing environmental resources.From the long view, we should base our efforts on building the ideal ecologicalsociety, make man and nature merging into one thing, protect human beings’ rightsand those of the nature, and realize human society’s sustainable development whilethe nature grows prosperous and strong.更多还原