Research On The Application Of Punitive Damages In Large-scale Torts

In recent years,various mass torts have occurred frequently in China,causing harm not only to the victims,but also to the public interest of the society.The punishment and prevention function of punitive damages have obvious advantages in dealing with mass torts,and it can improve the current relief methods in China.This paper defines and analyzes the concept of mass torts,clarifies the deficiencies of existing remedies,and introduces the necessity and theoretical basis of punitive damages in response to mass tort.Finally,it puts forward the perfect suggestions for the application of punitive damages in mass tort in China.In the case of the definition of mass torts.Through the analysis of typical mass torts in the four areas of food safety,product safety,environmental pollution and the securities market,the characteristics of mass torts are summarized,that is,the majority of infringing entities are enterprises,the number of victims is large,and the causal relationship is complicated.It is difficult to compensate for damages and damage social welfare.In terms of the suitability of punitive damages for mass tort.Due to the unique characteristics of mass torts,traditional compensatory compensation is difficult to fill the losses caused by mass tort,it is difficult to prevent it,and it is difficult to encourage victims to defend their rights.The government-led mass torts coping mode needs to pass the state.Fiscal to bear the responsibility for compensation,it is easy to cause dissatisfaction of the public,and then trigger new social problems;the compensation model of the compensation fund,due to problems in its fund launch and operation,it also faces difficulties in dealing with mass tort;Because China's mass tort damage data is small,it is easy to cause liability insurance to be unable to effectively measure the cost of loss,resulting in excessive error.Therefore,liability insurance has a mass tort response model.The corresponding deficiencies of the existing remedies make the application of punitive damages in mass tort realistic,and the functional advantages of punitive damages can improve the existing large-scale infringement coping deficiencies.In the case of the application of extraterritorial punitive damages in mass tort.The two major legal systems have different attitudes toward the punitive damages system.In the Anglo-American legal system countries,such as the United Kingdom and the United States,these two countries have expanded the scope of application of punitive damages to varying degrees in order to adapt to the rapid development of society.At the same time,the attitude of expanding the scope of application is more cautious,and each has introduced corresponding policies to limit its application and prevent punitive damages from being abused.The civil law countries,such as Germany and Japan,have changed their attitude towards the punitive damages system from a resolute resistance to a secret acceptance.Although punitive damages have not yet been made at the legislative level,the academic community's attitude towards punitive damages has eased and it is considered that punitive damages can be entered in the country.It can be seen that punitive damages have been recognized worldwide and China can also gain inspiration from it: the scope of application of punitive damages can be appropriately expanded,but the corresponding restrictions should be specified at the same time.In terms of the improvement of the application of punitive damages in mass tort in China.Firstly,it analyzes the legislative status of punitive damages in China,and points out the shortcomings,including the following aspects: narrow scope of application,insufficient identification of the subjective state of the injurer and insufficient consideration of the damage compensation.Secondly,it proposes improvement measures from the aspects of appropriately expanding the scope of application,improving the applicable subjective conditions,and reasonably determining punitive damages.