On Road Traffic Accidents Liability For Damages

The number of automobiles nowadays increases on daily basis due to the rapid economic growth. In the meanwhile, the number of road traffic accidents is also on the rise. The issue of road traffic accident damage compensation liability is put forward against this social background. How to better prevent and cope with traffic accidents is a cruel reality people have to confront. The newly promulgated Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China is beyond doubt a huge step forward. However, on the whole that law is still an administrative law with no specific regulations on the issue of road traffic accident damage compensation. Based on analysis of the necessity of studying road traffic damage compensation liability, the thesis advances the issue of imputation when there is road traffic accident damage in the first place. Given the legislation practice of several countries, it points out that the criterion of liability China now adopts is a combination of fault liability principle and no-fault liability principle, which is a relatively advanced legislation.The thesis points out five indispensable constituents are required for the road traffic accident damage liability to exist: road, vehicle, transportation, damage and causuality. The compensating main body of road traffic accidents is complicated due to the various owner and user relationships concerning the vehicle. The thesis studies and defines the compensating main body of road traffic accidents in various complicated circumstances respectively.After defining the road traffic accident compensation liability, the issue of compensation is prominent. The thesis suggests overall compensation and fault balancing principles as the main principle in road traffic accident compensation. It is suggested the scope of compensation should include direct material damage and direct property damage caused by physical damage in the accident as well as the spiritual damage caused in the traffic accident. The newly emerged mandatory liability insurance system and traffic accident social assistance fund are also analyzed in this thesis.The analysis and study of the above issues elaborates on the important theoretical points concerning road traffic accident damage liability. It is hoped that this master degree thesis will function as a starter which will arouse attention from the theorists and legislation body, thus promoting the progress and improvement of legislation on road traffic damage compensation liability and offering my humble contribution to China's legislation construction.