On Punitive Damages Applicable In China's Economic Law Liability

Many scholars have made detailed studies on legal liabilities in economic law. Attention is paid to some of new legal liabilities, such as national compensation, punitive damages, specific performance, credit diminution, qualification derating, resignation due to negligence, etc. In this thesis the writer systematically analyzed the applicability of punitive damages in economic law.Even in the ancient time some countries had provisions and cases concerning the law of punitive damages, which were not same as the law of punitive damages in modern time, but were similar to amercement on violating administrative law or fine on violating criminal law. The modern concept of punitive damages was formed in tort law of America. Through the analysis of the concept and characteristics of punitive damages together with the comparative analysis of characteristics of legal liabilities on violating economic law, the preconditions for the law of punitive damages is a kind of legal liability on violating economic law are established. Based on the particularity of economic law, legal liabilities on violating economic law should combine compensation and punishment. The law of punitive damages shows such a feature of the combination.The social functions of punitive damages, namely deterrence and defending, are what are aimed to achieve by the implementation of economic law. The advantages are shown when it is compared with other kinds of legal liabilities. The crucial question to answer in the practice of punitive damages is which the subject of implementation of punitive damages is. Through the comparison between the implementation by public sector and by private parties the writer suggests that the right of implementation be held by the court.Through the analysis of practices of punitive damages both at home and abroad, the writer offers some suggestions on improving our law of punitive damages. In this thesis, the writer lays her analytical emphasis on the preconditions, subjective element and subjects of the implementation of the law, and further elaborates on the necessity of putting the law of punitive damages into subsystems of economic law.