Research On The Punitive Compensation System Of Consumer Public Interest Litigation

In recent years,incidents of infringing on consumers' legitimate rights and interests have occurred from time to time.In addition to the illegal operators being driven by large profits,the imbalance of the information asymmetry between consumers and operators is also an important reason.The consumer public interest lawsuits filed by consumer associations and procuratorial organs has largely reversed this situation and so it has been supported by consumer.In order to further regulate consumer public interest litigation,in 2016 the Supreme People's Court issued the “Interpretation of Several Issues on the Applicable Law in the Trial of Consumer Civil Public Interest Litigation Cases”,of which Article 13 stipulated that the plaintiffs of consumer public interest litigation can file a claim of “stop infringement and eliminate obstructions”,eliminating dangers,make apology,etc.,but there is no clear stipulation on compensation including punitive damages.In practice,there are more and more cases of punitive damages in consumer public interest lawsuits,which account for the majority of consumer public interest lawsuits.This contrast has led to discussions about whether punitive damages should be applied to consumer public interest litigation.Therefore,this article discusses punitive damages in consumer public interest litigation and related issues in order to provide reasonable and feasible suggestions for the establishment of the system in China.Punitive damages in consumer public interest litigation refer to additional damages in addition to the compensatory damages required by the defendant in consumer public interest litigation.Compared with compensation for personal losses and damages of a private interest nature,punitive compensation is a more severe punishment method.Like administrative fines and criminal fines,the purpose is to maintain social order,severely crack down on illegal acts,and use punitive damages.In consumer public interest litigation,the functions and values of relieving consumers and preventing infringement can be better exerted.In addition,China's punitive compensation system is widely used in areas such as infringement,contracts,real estate,and intellectual property rights.The consumer public interest litigation system has just been established,but punitive compensation for consumer public interest litigation is still blank in legislation.However,this does not mean that it is not applicable in judicial practice.On the contrary,there are not a few consumer public interest lawsuits that bring punitivedamages,and many of them have the support of the court,which also reflects the society's strong demand for cracking down on infringements in the consumer field.The author analyzed the cases of consumer punitive damages in recent years and found that in judicial practice,there are mainly problems in the plaintiff's qualifications,compensation amount calculation,applicable conditions,evidence system,and punishment management.In this regard,the author believes that in order to establish a punitive compensation system for consumer public interest litigation,it is necessary to start from these aspects: first,grant the consumer plaintiff litigation plaintiff,that is,the Consumers Association and the procuratorial organ to claim punitive damages;second,appropriately reduce the plaintiff's burden of proof and reduce the plaintiff's certification standards can refer to the relevant provisions on product quality,apply presumption of fault and inversion of burden of proof;third,regulate the applicable conditions of punitive damages;fourth,calculate compensation based on illegal profits and adjust the punitive damages multiple,and give the judges certain discretion;fifth,learn from Brazil's "two-stage" trial model,establish a consumer civil compensation fund and related distribution supervision system,and ensure that compensation is "dedicated and transparent."Although there are still many problems in the judicial practice of punitive damages in consumer public interest litigation,it also shows that punitive damages are necessary and feasible in the application of consumer public interest litigation.This system will protect consumer rights in China.It is a great initiative.In consumer private interest lawsuits,consumers can claim punitive damages to relieve their damaged rights and interests when they are deceived or damaged by eating substandard food.Also in public interest litigation,punitive damages can not only protect the individual interests of consumers,but more importantly,they can punish and prevent offenders,thereby maintaining the stability of market economic order.Therefore,how to promote the system of punitive damages for consumer public interest litigation requires scholars and judicial workers to brainstorm and make more perfect suggestions.