Research On Liability For Compensation Of Road Traffic Accident Damage

With the accelerating development of China's road construction and automotive vehicles, the rate of traffic accident per year still maintains a certain degree of increase. Traffic accident has become one of the world-wide challenges, and because of this profound social background, liability for compensation of road traffic accident is put forward. It is vital to construct a timely and high-efficient mechanism of compensation for traffic damage and offer just, reasonable and sufficient remedy for victims from the perspective of law. For a long time, Approach to Road Traffic Accident of China which takes the offense as an indispensable condition and implements the fault responsibility principle when determines the traffic liability causes certain confusion for the application of culpability principle and liability confirmation in traffic accident. As to the new Law on Road Traffic Safety which establishes a new system of principles, especially the no-fault liability applied in automotive vehicles, walkers, drivers of non-automotive vehicles, embodies the legal spirit of human-oriented, thus, it is a breakthrough in the legislature of culpability principle of liability for compensation of traffic accident damage and is undoubtedly a great progress compared with former laws.Part 1 gives a discussion on the culpability principle of liability for compensation of road traffic damage. The culpability principle in tort laws is the general guideline for the determination of tort-feasor's damage and tort liability for compensation. Thus, the culpability principle of liability for compensation of road traffic accident damage is considered as the core issue and the foremost one. China's Law on Road Traffic Safety which was enforced in 1st May, 2004 puts forward that different culpability principles applies to different subjects according to China's national conditions and by referencing advanced experiences in foreign countries. No-fault principle is adopted by the traffic accident happened among drivers of automotive and non-automotive vehicles and walkers and the non-automotive party's intention is the only reason of impunity. On one hand, the victim's interests receive better safeguard, the needs of the development of modern society is meted and the human-oriented principle is represented; on the other hand, by confirming the fault responsibility of the non-automotive party, the activeness of damage prevention is aroused and the awareness of observing traffic regulations is enforced. Law on Road Traffic Safety which does not adopt singular culpability principle but diversified culpability principles according to different subjects forms a system of culpability and further improves China's legal system.Part 2 is the legal analysis on the constitutive elements of liability for compensation of road traffic damage. Article 119 of Law on Road Traffic Safety redefines the concept of traffic accident. Traffic accident refers to the incidental that person injury or property loss is caused by fault or by the unexpected when vehicles are on the road. The liability for compensation of road traffic accident is a liability for compensation of tort based on road traffic accident, that is to say, only the road traffic accident happens, can the liability for compensation of traffic accident damage hold true. To be more specific, there must be three common constitutive elements for the establishment of road traffic accident tort, which are the facts of personal injury caused by traffic accident of automotive vehicles, illegitimacy of personal injury caused by traffic accident of automotive vehicles and cause-effect relationship between the traffic tort of automotive vehicles and injury facts. Besides this, the constitutive elements also include road, vehicles, and traffic, which are special ones. The above is the essential elements that are indispensable to form road traffic accident.Part 3 is the subject of liability for compensation of road traffic accident damage which refers to the compensator of traffic tort, which is the subject of compensation obligation. As the ownership, lease and management of automotive vehicles in practice are complicated with a wide range of possession and use relationship, the study and identification of compensation subject is made under several complicated situations of vehicle traffic accident. The subject of liability is identified in the following ten cases: vehicle transaction without transfer of names, vehicle-purchasing with installment plan, vehicle linked operation, vehicle contract bidding, driving by theft, employed drivers, driving other's cars without authorization.Part 4 is on the compensation principle and compensation range of road traffic accident damage. The compensation principle is the cardinal guideline that after the determination of road traffic accident liability, the injuring person takes the liability for compensation, generally including full compensation principle, property compensation principle, the principle of no-fault responsibility compensation, the principle of offsetting fault compensation principle and the principle of fairness. The above principles make consideration from different perspectives. In this part, the analysis is made mainly on the noticing items of full compensation principle, offset fault principle and the principle of offsetting gains and losses in their process of application. What is more, according to Interpretation on Law Application of Hearing Personal Injury Compensation Cases by Supreme People's Court, the compensation range of road traffic accident damage carries out the principle of full compensation in the compensation items and criterion of personal injury compensation. There is some addition to compensation items and it is stipulated explicitly that including the spirit damages into compensation range.Part 5 is the legislative improvement of liability for road traffic accident. The legislative flaws of Article 76 of Law on Road Traffic Safety are made up by the way of developing conditions of liability exemption, scientifically setting up the method of determining the amount of insurance, establishing and improving supplementary system and others. It is suggested that the range of the third party be enlarged against the narrow range stipulated in Regulations on Compulsory Insurance of Liability for Automotive Traffic Accident, meanwhile, victims are endowed with direct claim right in the compulsory insurance of liability for automotive traffic accident and the advancement scope of relief fund is extended in order to protect legal rights and interests of the victim efficiently and bring the management function of compulsory insurance of liability for automotive traffic accident into play to stabilize society. Thus, the following things should be done as quickly as possible: legal defects in relating provisions Law on Road Traffic Safety should be made up, the compulsory insurance of liability of the third party should be improved, supplementary systems such as public fund for traffic accident remedy should be established and corresponding legislative suggestions should be put forward.Through the study and analysis on the basic theory of liability for compensation of road traffic damage, an efficient and just system of compensation for traffic accident damage is to be set up against legal defects in the current system of liability for compensation of road traffic damage by means of improving the compulsory insurance of the third party's liability and social remedy fund system with the purpose of protecting the interests of the victim from the aspect of liability for compensation ,reducing social disputes and maintaining the harmonious and stable social order, which are of great realistic significance.