Study On The System Of Punitive Damages In Environmental Torts

By use of the method of comparative analysis, historical analysis, case analysis,and inductive analysis, the systematic discussion were conducted from following fouraspects of the objects of environmental torts, namely the environmental right, generalintroduction to punitive damages, the necessity and rationality to implement punitivedamages in environmental torts, and application of punitive damages in environmentaltorts, aiming at borrowing the punitive damages system from common law system andmaking up defects of traditional compensatory damages to perfect the civil liabilitysystem on environmental torts and to reinforce the legal construction on China'senvironmental torts. With the large-scale development of industrialization and urbanization since 20thcentury, the environmental pollution and ecological deterioration is becomingincreasingly serious, which not only hinders the sustainable development of society and iveconomics, but also injures people's life, health, property, and other environmentalrights and interests. As a new type rights of modern society, environmental rights is acitizen's elementary rights, which combines the nature of private right and that of thesocial right and integrates both procedural and substantial environment rights. Theprocedural environmental rights include the right to know, the right to participate, andthe right to claim, whereas the substantial rights contain the environmental propertyright, the environmental personality right, and the environmental neighboring right.Both rights are complementary to each other and commonly constitute the completesystem on citizens' environmental rights. The system of punitive damages originates from ancient religious law, and furtherprevails in common law system, especially USA. Punitive damages means the damagesordered by the court in excess of actual losses that is based on the complementarydamages and exhibits three functions of compensating the losses to the victims,cracking down upon the tortfeasor, and preventing illegal and improper acts. Therefore,the unique legal characteristics of the environmental right determine the insufficientremedies by the victims through traditional compensatory damages. To ensure sufficientremedies by victims facing infringement of their environmental rights and prevent theflooding of the environmental pollution and ecological deterioration, it is necessary toimpose punitive damages upon victims facing infringement of environmental rights. In the final analysis, punitive damages is a kind of civil liability incurred by thetortfeasor for his infringement of environmental rights upon the victims, which differsfrom fines and penalties. The damages should not be attained be the government.Considering the factors of the tortfeasor, the victims and the social and economic vconditions, the high sum of punitive damages attained by the victims in the infringementof environmental rights is not only legitimate but also reasonable, which fully embodiesthe requirements for social fairness and substantial justice. The application of punitive damages in environmental torts should satisfy thesubjective and objective conditions synchronously, including the severe faults of thetortfeasor, irrationality of the environmental tortious acts, injury consequences and thecausation between the tortious acts and injure consequences. However, in the event offorce majore, acts by the third party, and the faults of the victim, the tortfeasor may beexempted from his liability of punitive damages. When hearing the case of environmental infringement, the court may determine thespecific sum of punitive damages according to the concrete circumstances of specificcases, considering the extent to which the defendant has faults, the injure status ofenv...