The Perfection Of Punitive Damages In China S Consumption Field

Punitive damages,based on factors such as the evil motive of the wrong-doer,focus on punishing malicious wrongful acts and curbing the recurrence of such acts,and sentencing the wrong-doer to pay the victim for the damages which more than his loss.The punitive damages have the special function that the compensatory compensation does not have,that is,the punishment and the prevention function;and because of its high compensation,it can have an incentive effect on the victim.After sorting out the relevant provisions of the current punitive damages in China's consumption field and after searching relevant cases and doctrines,it is found that the punitive damages in China is controversial in terms of the applicable conditions and the calculation mode of compensation.After the emergence of punitive damages,there are also a large number of dishonest behaviors such as "Wang Hai phenomenon" in judicial practice,and the academic circles are divided on whether punitive damages should be applied to this phenomenon.In addition,there are numerous legislations on the punitive damages in the consumption field,leading to the application of differences.Therefore,under the circumstances of today's product safety incidents,it is imperative to legislate and perfect the system.By using the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests as the general law of the punitive damages to complete the logic of the punitive damages in the field of consumption.When there is an overlap of articles of law between the Tort Law and the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests,the provisions of the latter should be given priority.Adopting the Food Safety Law as a special law of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests,giving priority to the Food Safety Law in the field of food consumption.When there is a coexistence of contractual liability and tort liability,the parties should be given the right to choose independently.At the same time,in view of the ambiguity of the provisions of the law that appear in the application of law,the concepts of "cheat" should be determined through judicial interpretation with reference to fraud in the Opinions on Several Issues concerning the Implementation of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China.At the same time,it should be taken into account that the primary function of punitive damages is not compensatory,therefore,the damage consequences should not be used as a necessary condition for the application of punitive damages,but should be determined according to the nature of punitive damages.On the subjective application conditions,it is affirmed that "knowing" should include "should be known" and that punitive damages should be applied to the case of culpable negligence.In view of the phenomenon of "know that buying fake",this paper believes that by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests,in principle,the claimants should not be allowed to make profits through punitive damages,but the standards should be relaxed in the field of food and medicine.In this case,taking into account the lack of punitive damages in the field of pharmaceuticals,special regulations should be made in the Pharmaceutical Administration Law.In addition,considering that the punitive damages will lead to the imbalance of interests,the floating compensation standard should be used instead of the fixed compensation standard,and the judge should be given a limited right of discretion to take into account the relevant factors in the case,so as to enhance the applicability of the case.