| The system of punitive damages originating in England. It is widely applied and enriched in the Unite States. It is originally applied to common law countries only. But with the unceasing development, it is gradually accepted by the civil law countries, and profoundly influences the countries of civil law system. Punitive damages has always been accompanied with all kinds of controversies since its beginning, however it has been growing and developing with these hot controversies. The reasons are that punitive damages fit the trend of private law, make up the deficiency of the traditional compensatory damages liability, and also meet the needs of the society. At present, although our country has a few rules about punitive damages, there are still many questions worth carefully to study and think. This paper attempts to analyze the problems of punitive damages in our country, then make relevant suggestions in order to improve it.Besides the introduction and conclusion, this paper is divided into three parts.The first part focus on the meaning of punitive damages. At first, we examine the concept of punitive damages in the main countries of the two law systems, and make a distinction between the different expressions of this concept. Then we put forward our own point of view through the analysis. After that, we introduce the functions of punitive damages. There are a variety of theories about the functions of punitive damages, in this paper they are divided into two kinds of functions, basic function and additional function. Punishment and deterrence are the core functions of punitive damages according with their primary objectives. Moreover the function of compensating victim and accelerating private law enforcement are the additional functions comparing to the basics.The second part analyses the current legislation of the system of punitive damages in our country, and propose the problems exist in our country's legislation. At the beginning of this part, the author investigate the regulations about punitive damages in existing legislation, including Consumer Protection Law, Tort Liability Act, Food Security Law and so on. Based on the investigation of the existing legislation, the author point out there are many defects in the system of punitive damages, such as the scope, conditions and the amount of the punitive damages. It is necessity to improve the system of punitive damages.The third part of this paper focus on the perfection of the application of punitive damages in our legislation. This part is the core of this paper, it puts forward the proposals on how to perfect the punitive damages. Firstly, the section analyses the scope of application of punitive damages. We figure that the application of punitive damages liabilities should be limited in the field of contract law, and the range of appliance in the tort law should be enlarged. Secondly, we demonstrate the requirements of its application and suggest that the constitution of punitive damages includes two aspects, subjective factors and objective elements. Among them, the subjective factors should include intentionally and gross negligence; while illegal behavior, actual damages and causation should be the three aspects of the objective elements. Finally, the section discusses the model to determine the amount of punitive damages and the ownership of punitive damages. According to the actual conditions of our country, we conclude that it should adopt a flexible payment model to calculate the amount of punitive damages. And generally, the punitive damages should belong to the plaintiff in the lawsuit; while under exceptional circumstances, the country or specific social organizations can take the management of it.Lastly, it should be noted that there must be some defects due to various factors. However, we expect this essay can make more scholars pay more attention to the study of punitive damages, more scholars put forward proposals to better improve the system. Realize the unique value of the system of punitive damages.
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