Civil Law Cases and Tutorials on Infringement

Author: Chief Editor: Yang Lixin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-03-01
Features: Preface: Editorial Notes: With the continuous improvement of legal education levels, reforms in classroom teaching methods are becoming increasingly profound. These reforms are particularly prominent in case-based teaching, leading to a growing demand for corresponding case textbooks. To this end, the Ministry of Justice's education department and the publishing house jointly organized experts and scholars from national political and legal colleges to compile this series of case textbooks. This series is currently the only uniformly compiled case teaching materials in China organized and reviewed by legal education authorities, possessing high authority. This case textbook is designed to complement the current uniformly compiled undergraduate legal textbooks. Through the introduction and discussion of typical cases, it helps law students deepen their understanding of abstract legal concepts and categories. At the same time, it assists students in understanding the application process of law in judicial activities, thereby achieving a combination of theory and practice. This case textbook is based on the current legal undergraduate teaching curriculum, and its content will be appropriately adjusted as legal teaching reforms progress. Excerpt: [Case Summary] In 1983, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region decided to develop underground coal resources near the Tieganggou area in Urumqi City and designated the construction of the Tieganggou Open-Pit Coal Mine as a key construction project during the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" period of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Xinjiang Coal Mine Design Institute conducted explorations in the Tieganggou area and compiled the "Feasibility Study Report for the Tieganggou Open-Pit Coal Mine" in June 1985. After confirming the feasibility of establishing a mine in the area, the report pointed out that the blasting operations for the open-pit coal mine would cause vibrations and noise, which would impact the surrounding natural environment. However, it did not discuss measures to prevent such impacts. In 1988, the Urumqi Coal Mine Bureau established the Tieganggou Open-Pit Coal Mine Construction Management Committee, which was renamed the Urumqi Coal Mine Bureau Tieganggou Open-Pit Coal Mine Construction Command Post (hereinafter referred to as the Command Post) in 1990. The mine began construction in 1991. During the planning phase of building the open-pit coal mine, the Xinjiang Milqu County Coal Mine Labor Service Company built a chicken farm outside the southeastern boundary of the mine. In April 1991, the Milqu County Coal Mine Labor Service Company contracted the chicken farm to Pang Zonglin for a 4-year term. Pang Zonglin purchased 6,970 chicks in four batches from February to June 1992 and raised them all in the chicken farm. These chickens entered the egg-laying period from August to October of the same year. During this period, the coal mine began blasting and stripping operations, which caused vibrations and noise that led to cracks and damage in the walls of nearby residents' houses and disrupted their normal living order, resulting in dissatisfaction among some residents. The government departments had allocated special funds for compensation. Meanwhile, the egg production of Pang Zonglin's chickens dropped significantly, and some chickens died unnaturally. By the end of December 1992 and early 1993, Pang Zonglin was forced to cull all the adult chickens. Based on calculations, Pang Zonglin's total loss due to the decline in egg production and the forced culling amounted to 120,411.78 yuan. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Research Institute conducted sampling diagnosis and testing on the live and dead chickens in Pang Zonglin's chicken farm and concluded that the chickens suffered from "stress-induced egg production decline syndrome" due to the long-term blasting and vibrations. In February 1993, the Command Post commissioned the Seismological Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau to monitor the vibrations and noise caused by the open-pit coal mine blasting operations. The conclusion was that both the vibration speed and noise levels did not exceed national standards. Pang Zonglin and the Command Post failed to reach an agreement on compensation for the chicken farm losses, so Pang Zonglin sued the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, demanding compensation of 402,418.42 yuan. [Trial] This case was first heard by the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court and appealed to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Higher People's Court; the trial level is two. The Urumqi Intermediate People's Court held that when the open-pit coal mine began construction, the chicken farm had already been built and put into production, and its establishment did not violate any regulations. The Command Post's long-term blasting and mining operations caused vibrations and noise that disturbed the chickens in Pang Zonglin's farm, leading to the "stress-induced egg production decline syndrome" in the chicken flock. Therefore, the Command Post should bear compensation liability. In accordance with Article 124 of the "General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China," the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court ruled that the Command Post should compensate Pang Zonglin for economic losses of 120,411.78 yuan. The Command Post appealed against the first-instance judgment to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Higher People's Court.