What is the concept of punitive damages? What are punitive damages

Punitive damages.

Punitive damages, also known as examplarydamages or vindictive damages, are damages awarded by a court in excess of the actual amount of damages. There are different views among scholars on the origin of punitive damages. It is generally believed that punitive damages in common law originated from the judgment of the British judge Lordcamden in 1763, and the United States was the first to confirm this system in a 1784 case.

Features. As one of the important forms of civil liability, the important characteristics of punitive damages can be summarized as follows:

1. The nature of mixed public-private law.

2. The degree of subjective malice of the perpetrator.

3. A form of civil liability with the highest degree of severity.

4. A form of civil liability clearly stipulated by law.

Punitive damages refer to the additional compensation in the damages that exceeds the scope of the actual losses suffered by the infringed party or the non-breaching party to the contract, that is, after the actual losses have been compensated, a certain amount or a certain multiple of the compensation will be added. Through the intimidation effect of the infringer, it has a preventive effect on the infringer itself and the general public, and reduces the incidence of illegal acts that infringe on the rights and interests of others.

Article 1185 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that where the intellectual property rights of others are intentionally infringed upon, and the circumstances are serious, the infringed party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages. Article 1207 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that if a product is produced or sold knowing that it is defective, or fails to take effective remedial measures in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, resulting in the death or serious damage to the health of others, the infringed party has the right to claim corresponding punitive damages. Article 1232 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China provides that if the infringer intentionally pollutes the environment or destroys the ecology in violation of the provisions of the law, causing serious consequences, the infringed party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages.

Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages or retaliatory damages, refer to damages awarded by the court in excess of the actual amount of damages. Punitive damages are a principle of aggravated damages, the purpose of which is to punish the defendant to prevent recurrence in the future, in addition to making up for the losses caused by the defendant's intentional infringement in the past, and at the same time to achieve the purpose of punishing others; If the defendant's infringement is based on a careful calculation that the benefits outweigh the compensation, punitive damages can also be awarded, and if only compensatory damages are agreed to be given, the infringer is only equivalent to going through the compensation compensation procedures after the fact, but there is no risk. First, the so-called punitive damages now refer to the moral losses and material losses as actual losses on the premise that the compensation for moral and material losses is regarded as an independent cause of compensation, and a certain amount or proportion of punitive damages is added to the actual losses.

Second, the scope of application of punitive damages has been expanded. Absolute Song.

Punitive damages refer to the additional compensation in the damages that exceed the scope of the actual losses suffered by the infringed party or the non-breaching party to the contract, that is, after the actual losses have been compensated, a certain amount or a certain multiple of the damages will be imposed. Through the intimidation effect of the infringer, it has a preventive effect on the infringer itself and the general public of the social elders, and reduces the incidence of illegal acts that infringe on the rights and interests of others.

Article 1185 of the Civil Code.

Where the intellectual property rights of others are intentionally infringed and the circumstances are serious, the infringed party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages.

The first infiltration stool is one thousand two hundred and seven.

Where a product is produced or sold knowing that it is defective, or no effective remedial measures are taken in accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, resulting in the death or serious damage to the health of others, the infringed party has the right to claim corresponding punitive damages.

Article 1232.

Where the infringer intentionally pollutes the environment or destroys the ecology in violation of legal provisions, causing serious consequences, the infringed party has the right to request corresponding punitive damages.

China's Tort Liability Law only introduces punitive damages in product liability, and not all product liability is subject to punitive damages, but punitive damages can only be claimed if the following conditions are met: first, the producer or seller subjectively has intention, that is, the product is produced or sold knowing that it is defective; Second, punitive damages cannot be claimed if the fact that serious damage has been caused, i.e., the death or serious damage to the health of another person has been caused, and other damage consequences have been caused. Third, the causal relationship is established, and the death or serious damage to the health of the infringed party is caused by the defective products produced or sold by the infringer. There are two points that need to be reminded:

First, the punitive liability between the producer and the seller is neither joint liability nor joint and several liability, but independent and separate liability; Second, punitive damages are based on the premise that the perpetrator is subjectively at fault, and the principle of attribution of fault liability applies. Therefore, if the victim cannot prove that the producer or seller knew that there was a circumstance, he cannot claim punitive damages, or if he only proves that the producer knew about it, he can only claim punitive damages liability from the producer. Legal basis:

Article 47 of the Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China provides that if a product is produced or sold knowing that there is a defect, causing the death or serious damage to the health of others, the infringed party has the right to claim corresponding punitive damages.