Research On The Perfection Of The Punitive Compensation System In China’s Consumer Civil Public Interest Litigation

With the rapid development of market economy,infringement cases in China’s consumer market occur from time to time.In traditional consumer private interest litigation,most consumers consider the cost of litigation and choose to give up protecting their rights to exempt illegal operators from legal sanctions.In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers,China’s consumer civil public interest litigation punitive compensation legislation has been put on the agenda.The unclear legislative provisions have led some courts to deny the legitimacy of punitive damages in consumer civil public interest litigation on the grounds of no legal basis.In order to maintain the unity of judicial decisions,specific provisions should be made for punitive damages in consumer civil public interest litigation,which is not only conducive to the protection of consumer rights,but also can achieve a punitive effect on illegal operators,and maintain a fair and just consumer market order.At present,punitive damages,a relatively special form of liability,have emerged in consumer civil public interest litigation.However,due to the unclear provisions of relevant systems,there are still some problems in the system at present.First,the legislation does not explicitly grant the subject of consumer civil public interest litigation the right to request punitive damages,resulting in the phenomenon of different judgments in the same case in judicial practice.Secondly,the applicable conditions for punitive damages in consumer civil public interest litigation are inappropriate,and the subjective definition of "knowingly" and behavioral "fraud" is vague.Third,the calculation method of public welfare punitive damages is not scientific,and public interest litigation and private interest litigation adopt the same calculation method,resulting in an inconspicuous punishment effect and an imbalance between damage and responsibility.Fourth,the management and distribution of public welfare punitive damages are unreasonable,and there are no unified provisions on the subject,distribution method,and management system,which makes it impossible to achieve the dedicated use of punitive damages.To improve the punitive compensation system for consumer civil public interest litigation,we should fully learn from relevant foreign regulations.The United States has applied the punitive compensation system in consumer group litigation,with intent and gross negligence as subjective elements,which is worth learning from.It is reasonable for Germany to use the illegal gains of illegal operators as a reference factor for calculating punitive damages.Brazil has established a specialized consumer protection fund to manage the remaining compensation,which is worth learning from in China.The punitive compensation system for consumer civil public interest litigation in China can be improved from the following aspects.Firstly,the legislation clearly grants the consumer associations and procuratorial organs the right to request punitive damages.Secondly,standardize the application conditions of the punitive compensation system in consumer civil public interest litigation.Using intentional and gross negligence as subjective conditions,it is clear that the act is illegal and has consequences that harm the legitimate rights and interests of an unspecified majority of consumers.Thirdly,clarify the calculation method of punitive damages for consumer civil public interest litigation.Using the total amount of illegal sales profits of the operator as the calculation base,reasonably determine a maximum penalty of two times.Fourthly,unify the distribution and management of punitive damages in consumer civil public interest litigation.Pay compensation to the national treasury in a certain proportion and establish a dedicated consumer public welfare fund to distinguish the distribution system between consumer public welfare litigation and consumer private interest litigation,and improve the supervision system of consumer public welfare funds.