A Re-examination of the Punitive Damages System for Ecological and Environmental Torts

Referring to foreign experience, China has preliminarily realized the localization of punitive damages. Ecological and environmental torts, as the new field of application of the punitive damages system to the Civil Code, are endowed with the nature of civil liability under the provisions of the Civil Code and judicial interpretation. There are structural differences between China and the common law countries in terms of legal system and judicial system. We should not blindly copy the practice of the US, homogenize punitive damages with fines and penalties, and overemphasize the punitive and deterrent function of the punitive damages system for ecological and environmental torts. We should rationally understand the private law attribute of punitive compensation system for ecological environment tort, locate its institutional function of filling damages in accordance with the principle of complete compensation, and limit application scope to ecological environmental tort cases.