Environmental Law Sharpens its Teeth
Mondaq Business Briefing › Hong Kong Law Articles in English (2004)
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Environmental Law Sharpens its Teeth
Written by Kevin Owen (Partner) and Peter Borg (Registered Foreign Lawyer (Australia))
Environmental law is gaining a higher profile in Hong Kong. In this article, Kevin Owen and Peter Borg examine the recent decisions of the Hong Kong courts in the Central Reclamation case and in Shiu Wing Steel Ltd v Director of Environmental Protection.Central ReclamationReclaiming land from Victoria Harbour is not a new concept. Since the early 1940's over 3,000 hectares (almost half of the harbour) has been filled in. However, there is now a growing public concern that Victoria Harbour is in danger of being turned into Victoria River - particularly given that there are proposals to reclaim a further 600 hectares. It is not surprising then that the most recent attempt to reclaim an additional 46 hectares (approximately 75 football fields) along the Central and Wanchai waterfront met with significant resistance. Apart from public protests, there were two separate actions in the Court of First Instance to stop the reclamation. One action was successful while the other (for now at least) was unsuccessful. The successful action has been appealed directly to the Court of Final Appeal and the outcome of that appeal will almost certainly determine the fate of the unsuccessful second action. Despite this, the Victoria Harbour reclamation continues to proceed, as evidenced by the fleet of reclamation barges at work near the Star Ferry Pier. The question is, will the reclamation as a whole be completed in the form currently proposed.BackgroundThe idea for the current reclamation goes back over 20 years. In 1983, the Harbour Reclamation and Urban G...See the full content of this document
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