Study On Punitive Damages System

The so-called punitive damages refer to besides actual damages, the court orders the perpetrators to pay additional monetary compensation to the victims. Punitive damages have statutory nature and additional nature and have punishment, deterrence, containment functions. The ancient law has a provision on punitive damages. Modern sense, the system of punitive damages originated in the Anglo-American law, and in the 20th century, punitive damages have a big advance in the United States. Today, punitive damages system has been widely recognized in common law countries; its booming trend also has an impact on the civil law countries. As China's current legislative recognition of punitive damages, at the macro structure, the system of punitive damages has been established, but at the micro level, such as subjects of rights, the amount of compensation, there are still imperfections. China's current system of punitive damages should be directed to the legislative defects and be continuously refined and improved.