Effectiveness Evaluation Of Punitive Damages In The Food Safety Law Of China

As the basic law of adjusting economic life and relationship of modern society,economic law is characterized by the combination of punishment and reward,that is,the common saying "carrot stick".As the classical carrier of economic law's idea,punitive damages have both punishment and reward function.For producers and sellers,it can punish the wrongful acts through multiple reparations beyond civil "fill-in liability" and deter potential violators legally and economically;On the other hand,it can improve consumers' enthusiasm to exercise their rights legally and economically by multiple compensation and bring spillover promotion to the interests of consumer group and the public interest of society.Since 1993,Article 49 of the < Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests>,based on the reality of the rule of law in China,introduced punitive damages system into the rule of law in China for the first time.Due to its function characteristic,it continues to expand in the system of rule of law with Chinese characteristics,from the emerging economic law into the territory of traditional civil law,and reached its peak in the ten-times punitive damages in the <Food Safety Law of the people's Republic of China>.This step through amendment suggestions of the latest intellectual property law,company law,securities law,state compensation law gets the approval of policy makers and the public.As reflected in the dispute in the rule of law about the "heavy canon" and "skynet",will more and more heavy punitive damages certainly enable "the strictest legal system in history" to achieve its intended punishment and reward function in a natural and effective manner?Based on this,this paper selects the most typical "punitive damages system" in the current characteristic legal system of China-punitive damages in the food safety law.With the help of a large sample of judicial cases,this paper uses the approach of evidence-based law,law and economics,value analysis to examine and evaluate the implementation effect of punitive damages rules,and to accurately locate the problems existing in punitive damages in the food safety law,and puts forward targeted and evidence-based suggestions.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,the main body of this paper is divided into three chapter:The first chapter puts forward questions.Firstly,implementing the most severe punitive damages in the food safety law is because food safety issues have publicity and risk.Secondly,combs the regulations of punitive damages of food safety in the rule of law system with Chinese characteristics,to define the scope of the text;Finally,it is pointed out that punitive damages of food safety law,as the strictest legal liability in history,may not be transformed into the most effective legal liability.On this basis,puts forward the research topic: it is necessary to investigate the current situation of judicial implementation of the punitive damages in food safety law,and to find out the factors that hinder this rule to achieve its function,and to make this rule transform from "paper law" to "in action law".Chapter ? is the evidence-based evaluation of the effect of punitive damages in the food safety law.Systematically retrieving and incorporating 4646 eligible judicial cases relating to Article 96 of the <Food Safety Law of the people's Republic of China(2009)> and Article 148 of<Food Safety Law of the people's Republic of China(2015)>,using statistical software to carry on the quantitative analysis and the typology research to these cases;Then,using law economics to investigate the effect of punitive damages in food safety law to producers,sellers,consumers,as well as the effect of food safety protection.Chapter ? is the suggestions to perfect the punitive damages of food safety law: from the most strict to the most effective.Combining the analysis of chapter II,summarizes and combs the problems which punitive damages in food safety law have in the process of judicial implementation.And gives precise suggestions from legislative,judicial,law enforcement of the implementation of law.Our research finds that although punitive damages in food safety law is claimed to be "the strictest in history" and has been endowed with multiple legislative purposes and functions by legislators,its implementation effect is not satisfactory.The protection of food safety is a systematic project,which needs every part of implementation of the law to cooperate in the whole process.