On Punitive Compensation For Food Safety

Food safety punitive damages have a higher multiple of compensation,which is the most severe and most concerned in China's punitive compensation system.As the research object of punitive damages,it has a typical feature.With the amendment of civil procedure law in 2017,public welfare litigation for food safety has become a hot spot in recent years.Whether or not punitive damages can be claimed in civil public interest litigation and how to claim punitive damages are the new problems facing food safety punitive damages at present.The purpose of this paper is to solve the long-standing disputes about food safety punitive damages,and provide reference for the establishment of the punitive compensation system for food safety under the background of public interest litigation.In the first chapter,as the basic advance of this paper,the author summarizes the particularity of food safety punitive damages by expounding the legislative background of punitive damages,discussing the purpose of punitive damages for food safety,analyzing the composition of punitive damages for food safety,etc.Based on the actual cases and research opinions,this paper points out five prominent problems in punitive damages,including the lack of applicable conditions to limit punitive damages,cases that cannot be correctly identified due to the fixed calculation method of compensation amount,excessive amount of punitive damages in public interest litigation,overlapping with other legal liabilities,and the amount of punitive damages belongs to individuals causing improper interests.In the second chapter,the legal liability status of punitive damages for food safety is studied.It is pointed out that the generalization of punitive damages for food safety directly leads to the imbalance of the legal system,and the punitive damages for food safety are not suitable as the alternative liability form of administrative punishment.Therefore,it is pointed out that the punitive compensation for food safety is only applicable to the behavior that infringes both personal interests and overall interests.Accordingly,the legal relationship of punitive damages for food safety is limited,and the relatively independent legal liability status of punitive damages for food safety is affirmed.Then,from the perspective of economic law,the paper analyzes the value of punitive liability for food safety,evaluates and analyzes the theory of moral responsibility,utilitarian responsibility,positivism responsibility and balanced responsibility,and expounds the recognition of the theory of balanced responsibility.Based on the analysis of the value of responsibility,the paper analyzes the degree of responsibility of punitive damages for food safety,and puts forward three viewpoints: the total amount of infringement interests,the prevention of illegal acts and the probability of responsibility bearing.It is believed that the degree of the punitive damages for food safety should be considered comprehensively with these three viewpoints.On the issue of the types of the punitive damages for food safety,the division of the responsibilities of the department law is denied,and the responsibility connection of the punitive damages for food safety in each department law is proposed.In the third chapter,based on the analysis of the purpose and mode of action of punitive damages for food safety,this paper supports the claim of applying punitive damages in civil public interest litigation of food safety,and points out the principle of determining the degree of responsibility in the public interest litigation of punitive damages for food safety.It is considered that the determination of punitive damages in civil public interest litigation should be based on the comprehensive determination of the degree of liability of punitive damages for food safety,and the compensation multiple should be less than the punitive damages in individual consumer litigation.At the same time,after claiming punitive damages in public interest litigation,consumers should not claim punitive damages again.On the issue of the attribution of punitive damages,this paper puts forward a consistent theory between the attribution of punitive damages interests and the source of responsibility value,and holds that the punitive damages for food safety should retain part of the reward to the plaintiff,and the rest should be attributed to the public interest by means of public funds or belonging to the state treasury.Finally,according to the results and opinions of this paper,the author puts forward some suggestions to amend the current food safety law,civil procedure law,administrative punishment law and criminal procedure law,and explains the reasons for such modification.