The Study On Punitive Damages

Punitive damages has more than two hundred years since it was set up in English common law at1763. During the two hundred years, punitive damages has not been doubted and criticized in common law countries, but also not been explicitly recognized by conventional civil law countries until today because it disobey the rule of compensation. This article first went through the history of appearance and development of punitive damages to find out whether punitive damages has basis for existence, and then demonstrated the legitimacy of punitive damages through analyzing the limitation of the rule of compensation in protecting victim from the view of torts that because the practice of punitive damages was in torts. And then this article demonstrated the necessity of punitive damages through analyzing that the punishment of public law would not be the choice of overcoming the limitation of the rule of compensation in torts. On the basis of necessity of punitive damages, this article discussed the area of application of punitive damages, conditions of application of punitive damages and the amounts of punitive damages according to the goal and function of punitive damages. At last, this article put forward some suggestions for legislation of punitive damages after analyzing the prevent legislations relevant to punitive damages. This article has four chapters except for introduction and conclusion.The introduction part recommended the goal, train of thought and methods of this research on punitive damages.The first chapter demonstrated the necessity of punitive damages. This article got the idea that punitive has the basis for existence by going through the history of appearance and development of punitive damages. This article demonstrated the legitimacy of punitive damages through analyzing the limitation of the rule of compensation in protecting victim from the view of torts that because the practice of punitive damages was in torts. And then this article demonstrated the necessity of punitive damages through analyzing that the punishment of public law would not be the choice of overcoming the limitation of the rule of compensation in torts. this chapter also answered the doubts and criticism which aimed at punitive damages.The second chapter studied the area of application of punitive damages and conditions of application of punitive damages. On the problem of the area of application of punitive damages, this chapter first studied the specific area of application of punitive damages in torts, and drew the conclusion that punitive damages should only be used in the liability of torts which are based on faults, so from the view of the type of infringements which punitive damages applies, punitive damages can be applied in the common infringements which based on faults and in special infringements which based on faults. Then, this chapter demonstrated that punitive damages can not be used in the liability for breach contract according to the goal and function of punitive damages. At last, this chapter demonstrated that punitive damages can only be used in legal damages which constitute the liability of torts. On the problem of the conditions of application of punitive damages, this chapter first clarified the relationship of punitive damages and multiple damages and fine, and then according to the area of application of punitive damages, this chapter concluded the conditions of application of punitive damages are:infringements, damage, causal relationship of infringements and damages, and intention of infringer.The third chapter discussed how to fix the amounts of punitive damages. Because the realization of the goal and function of punitive damages is decided by the reasonability of the amounts of punitive damages, this chapter first clarified the goal and function of punitive damages. This article hold that the goal of punitive damages is to protect the victim and the primary function is deterrence. So according to the deterrence function, this chapter examined the elements for deciding the amounts of punitive damages of the common countries, and made the reasonable elements be our reference. The reasonable elements for deciding the amounts of punitive damages include:the extent of condemnation of the infringements and the interests from the infringements, the property of the infringer, punitive damages is reasonable compared to the other punishments that the infringer got. At the same time, the amounts of punitive damages can not be limited. The forth chapter analyzed the present legislations relevant to punitive damages in our country and put forward some suggestions for punitive damages. Because the legislations before the law of torts which has the same characteristics that punishment for the infringer and damages beyond damage for the victim as punitive damages does not aim at protecting the victim directly, but at maintaining the order of the society, the legislations are not punitive damages which aims at protecting the rights of the victims in fact. According to the analysis above, We should put punitive damages and compensation damages together in the chapter of damages of the law of torts, that is: compensation is the primary rule of damages, but in the liability of torts which is decided by faults, if the infringer violated the law intentionally, punitive damages can be applied. The amounts of punitive damages is decided by the judge according to the extent of condemnation of the infringements and the interests from the infringements, the property of the infringer, punitive damages is reasonable compared to the other punishments that the infringer got.