Study On The Relief Of Mass Torts In Risk Society

The core issue of the risk society turned into how to mitigate and fairly distribute the risk and damage,rather than how to improve the distribution of wealth in the industrial society,based on which the study on mass torts is formed and developed.The justification for mass torts lies in the distributive justice,which focuses on the restoration of the social order destroyed by tortious acts,with the aim of maintaining social security.Under the guidance of distributive justice,principle of no-fault liability and comprehensive relief mechanism developed.The high risk and huge accident damage caused by mechanized industrial production have led to the evolution of principle of liability for tort law from the tradition of "no fault to no responsibility" to "who should bear the risk" strategy.Since the mid-late 20 th century,the tort law has experienced revolution in its values,while liability insurance affected the tort law through various means.With the limit of complex issues,neither the tort law,the government,the liability insurance nor the compensation fund can run alone to provide adequate relief for victims of mass torts.So,we should summarize the advantages of each means and build a comprehensive relief mechanism dominated by liability insurance.To run it properly,we should design reasonable rules of burden of proof,confirm the rules of calculation of loss and compensation.Illustrated by the example of the attribution principle and compensation of food safety incidents,China should build a comprehensive relief mechanism dominated by food safety compulsory liability insurance,based on the principle of no fault liability and reasonable rules of burden of proof.The system of food safety liability insurance and punitive damages should be improved and the state responsibility in food safety accidents must be rationally distributed,so that the victims could get adequate and timely relief,and the stability and social order could be guaranteed.