A special court for environmental cases was opened on May 23 in southeast China's Fujian Province. It is the country's first such specialized judiciary organ.

The court affiliated to the Fujian Provincial Higher People's Court has recruited 12 environmental, agricultural, marine and mineral experts as technical consultants.

Entrusted by the court, the consultants can appear in court to provide technical consultation and interpretation.

Fujian was approved as China's first "ecological progress demonstration zone" in April to explore and pilot judicial protection of the environment.

Since 2009, several county- and city-level courts in the province have experimented in setting up divisions specializing in forestry, mining, water and resources, atmosphere and water pollution cases.