Study On The Application Of Punitive Compensation For Ecological Environmental Damage

According to Article 1232 in the Seventh volume of Tort Liability,the Civil Code defines that the punitive compensation system can be applied to ecological and environmental damage.However,because the expression of punitive damages in this article is difficult to determine the amount of damages,the judicial organs can not use this article easily.Therefore,it is urgent to define the specific amount of compensation through legal interpretation.On January 12,2022,the Supreme People’s Court issued the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the application of Punitive damages in the trial of ecological and environmental tort disputes(hereinafter referred to as the Interpretation),although to some extent,it has made up for the ambiguity of the original article on the application of punitive damages system,but there are still some improvements.Among them,the setting of the amount of punitive damages is very important.If the range of the amount is not clear,the rule cannot finally realize its significance and value.From the perspective of judicial practice,the amount of punitive damages set has more knowledge,if the amount set is relatively low,then the court attempts to achieve punishment and deterrence effect can not be correctly reflected in the judgment;If the amount is set relatively high,it may cause excessive punishment,so that the punitive compensation system is difficult to implement in place.Selecting and determining the appropriate amount of compensation can not only make up the reasonable loss of the infringed effectively,but also deter the illegal acts of damaging the environment and curb the potential illegal acts.In this paper,the application of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage is mainly divided into the following parts:The first part is the concept and function analysis of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage.By deconstructing and analyzing the concept of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage,we have a preliminary understanding of the function of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage,and conclude that it has the functional characteristics of compensation,punishment and prevention.From the function of punitive damages setting,we can more comprehensively feel the necessity and reality of punitive damages system in environmental infringement cases.The second part is about the existing problems in the application of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage.Through searching and analyzing the judicial precedents generated after the promulgation of the Civil Code and the Interpretation,it can be seen that there are the following problems in the application of the system in judicial practice: First,there is no clear calculation standard for punitive damages.It is reflected in the lack of sufficient consideration factors,the calculation base is not unified,and the calculation multiple is not quantified.Secondly,the legislature failed to establish a systematic and comprehensive mechanism for the implementation of the punitive damages set in the ecological environment damage cases.This is mainly reflected in the punitive damages and other fines with punitive functions set in environmental infringement,the chaotic execution sequence of fines,and the lack of diversification of punitive damages.Finally,the ownership,management and use of punitive damages are not sound.The specific manifestation is that the subject of punitive damages is controversial and the rules of management and use of punitive damages are chaotic.The third part is about the countermeasures to improve the applicability of punitive damages for ecological environmental damage.In order to solve the above problems,the following suggestions are put forward: First,to clarify the calculation standard of punitive damages,including: refining the discretionary factors of punitive damages,clarifying the calculation base of punitive damages,quantifying the calculation multiple of punitive damages.In addition,the execution mechanism of punitive damages should be further perfected,including: specifying the execution sequence of punitive damages and setting up diversified execution methods of punitive damages.Finally,the author elaborates the attribution,management and use mechanism of punitive damages,including: to clarify the attribution subject of punitive damages and refine the management and use rules of punitive damages.