Punitive Damages System

Punitive damages is a special form of civil liability in common law, in recent years, civil law countries and China begin to pay attention to it. First, this paper illustrates that punitive damages has strong prevention function, at the same time it accords with the inspirit of civil law of modern times, it doesn't conflict with basic theories of civil law, such as the partition of public law and private law, the separation of civil law and criminal law and unjust benefit, it is also the necessary supplement of compensatory civil liability, therefore it has the rationality of being. But punitive damages is a sword with double blades, we should hold a appropriate limit in using it, hence, in order to exert it's positive function, we should set a limitation to it's scope of applying, condition and the amount of punitive damages. Punitive damages isn't suitable to be applied widely in nowadays in our country, but in some unusual areas where torts is very serious and the existing law isn't sufficient, we can use it.