Research Of China’s Food Mass Tort Relief Legal System

In recent years, food mass torts occur frequently. Whether the "Big-head ChildrenEvent" of Fuyang, Anhui or the "Sanlu Milk Powder Scandal ", the number of victimsinvolved were numerous with its vast influence scope. The consumers suffered greatlyhealth-undermining and property-losing. The construction of food mass tort relief mechanismcan mature the tort law system in our country, thus the mechanism can play its role inguaranteeing the safety of people’s lives and maintaining social public interests and stability.Although there are studies on the current stage of the food mass tort in the "Tort LiabilityAct" and the "Food Safety Law", the regulations on food mass torts still lag behind thepractical needs, leading to the difficulties in identifying the torts, the delayed-remedies for thevictims, and no due-punishment for the offenders. The systematization and institutionalizationof the study on food mass tort mechanism is imperative.Five major parts are included in this paper.The first part is the basic theory of Food Mass Torts. The concepts, features andconstitutive requirements of the Mass Torts will be introduced at first place, analysis of itsparticularity at the next place and followed by the comparison with relevant conceptions.The second part is the study of constitutive requirements of the Food Mass Torts. First isthe determination of the perpetrators and the identification of the food mass tort damages facts;then the homogeneity and complexity involved in food mass tort causality and the difficultyof proving. At last comes the identification of the Liability Principles on Food Mass Torts.The third part is about the current situation and the defects of Food Mass Torts legalsystem. First is about the status of Legal Remedy System, namely the Punitive DamagesSystem, Prepaid System of the government and the Representative Action and followed bythe analysis of the flaws of this system.The fourth part focuses on the investigation aboard about the Food Mass Torts legalsystem. The following aspects have been investigated: market share liability and punitivedamages in terms of the Civil Substantive Law; class action, group litigation andrepresentative action from the perspective of procedural law; liability Insurance and specialrelief fund.The final part is the countermeasures of the Food Mass Torts law system. Measuresincluding Market Share Liability, Punitive Damages System and Priority Personal Injury Compensation System are going to be implemented to improve the Substantive Law of CivilLiability. Next is the enrichment of the Litigation System; the last is perfecting theCompensation Fund System and Liability Insurance System.