Application Of Punitive Damages In Tort Law In China

The food safety problem, the problem of environmental tort and the infringement of intellectual property are very serious in china. The remediation of these problems is a challenging engineering. As one of these measures,"Food Safety Law", implemented in June2009, is a significant step forward. The term of Ten times the compensation illustrates that one step closer to the application of punitive damages in china."Tort liability act" uses the "punitive damages" word firstly, that means recognizing of the punitive compensation system in theory and practice. Food infringement, the environment infringement and intellectual property infringement are different from the general tort type of infringement. The infringement happens easily, the illegal cost is low but the infringer profits a lot, that making the infringer take a laissez-faire attitude on his own tort after rational thinking. The punitive compensation system improves the illegal cost, with punishment and deterrence, make the infringer through rational thinking no longer choose to implement tort. Punitive damages result in the individual victims get a higher compensation than that of the individuals who have suffered damage, but due to the particularity of tort itself, the overall level of compensation is still equivalent to the cost of social harm behavior, so it is good for the safeguard of the justice society. Considering the ponderance of the China’s food safety problems, environmental pollution and ecological damage problems and the protection level of intellectual property is low, the punitive compensation helps to solve the above problems and helps China’s economic develop, promote environmental protection and technological progress. According to the needs of China, it should be introduced into these three torts.The article is divided into six parts, starting from punitive damages in general principle, and analyzes the value of the system. Based on foreign experience, and according to China’s national conditions and the process of the rale of law, proves the necessity and rationality that introducing the punitive damages into tort law, including food safety and enviromental tort and infringement of intellectual property,then puts forward suggestions about system design. The first chapter is an overview of the concept of punitive damages, including the concept of punitive damages and legal characteristics; the second chapter is the analysis of rationality of introducing punitive damages system into the field of tort, from compensation function and control function two aspects; the third chapter is the development of the punitive damages, the main content is the establishment and the development of punitive damages in two legal families; the fourth chapter describes the status of legislation of punitive damages in China; the fifth chapter is about the application of punitive damages in our country; the last chapter puts forward some suggestions on the system of punitive damages, mainly puts forward the construction of legislation in three aspects of the field of food safety environmental tort field, and the field of intellectual property.