Study On Punitive Damages In Consumer Protection

The System of Punitive Damages originated in the United Kingdom,and it has been developed in the United States rapidly.The System of Punitive Damages was firstly introduced in China within the field of Consumer Protection,where the System is the most widely used so far.Despite the differences between the legal systems,the author aims to study how to apply the System of Punitive Damages better and exert its role of punishing bad businesses and curbing similar wrongdoings of others.In recent years,the urban development in our country is getting more and more quickly,and the consumption level of residents is getting higher and higher.However,many unscrupulous businesses,due to the temptation of economic interests,have produced many fake and shoddy products,and even have spread to the areas of food and medicine that endanger people's health.When the administrative enforcement of law cannot completely eliminate similar situations,the System of Punitive Damages is introduced into civil legislation to make up for the deficiencies in administrative supervision and to encourage consumers to actively safeguard their rights,so as to deter and control similar immoral businesses.Therefore,the System of Punitive Damages has been landed in our country for decades,its effectiveness is obvious to all,but there are still some shortcomings.The author is intended to carry out research and analysis on these issues,the main framework is as follows:In the first chapter of this article,the author makes a comprehensive overview of compensation system in the common law countries,and compares it with thetraditional system of compensatory damages in the civil law countries.Based on the comparison of two different compensation systems,the author summarizes the differences between the two compensation systems and the implications for the System of Punitive Damages in China.In the second chapter,the author focuses on the System of Punitive Damages in China.First of all,the author analyzes the relevant cases in judicial practice and gives a detailed account of the deficiencies in judicial practice in our country at present.These deficiencies include the definition of consumers which have argued for a long time,and the commercialization and negative impacts of "professional counterfeiters hunters".The courts have different standards for consumers and different attitudes towards "professional counterfeiters hunters",which may lead to unbalanced development.Furthermore,there are differences in the standards of the court for fraudulent activities.Because the punitive damages in our country mainly exists in the form of "all or nothing",it is easy to cause unfair practice in the case of goods or services which are expensive.The issue of calculating of compensation is also be involved.In the last chapter of this article,some suggestions are put forward in view of the above problems.For instance,there shall be exceptions of the method of calculating the three times of compensation,and the judge shall be given certain discretion rights."Professional counterfeiters hunters" should be gradually restricted without the field of food and medicine.But at the same time,whether or not a "professional counterfeiters hunter" should be identified in combination with a variety of factors.In addition,the special areas of food and drug should still be distinguished.And the particularities in these areas should be maintained,to achieve the better social effects of the System of Punitive Damages.