Research On Damage Compensation System In Consumer Civil Public Litigation

In 2012,China revised the Civil Procedure Act,in which a public interest litigation system was added.In 2013,the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers was revised,stating China’s Consumer Association and consumer associations in provinces,autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government can initiate consumer public interest lawsuit.In 2016,the Supreme People’s Court enacted the Interpretation of Several Issues on the Application of Law in the Trial of Consumer Civil Public Welfare Lawsuits,which regulated that consumer associations at or above the provincial level can claim various types of litigation requests to stop the tort,remove hindrance,eliminate danger,extend an apology,and can propose that unfair and unreasonable clauses are invalid.Neither the law nor the judicial interpretation explicitly stipulates that the Consumer Association can claim the right of claim for damages in the Consumer Public Interest Litigation.In recent years,the development of online shopping and other sales platforms has promoted the more rapid circulation of goods.Some illegal operators’ infringement acts may violate many unspecific consumers’ interest,through which illegal operators seek exorbitant profits.However,the individual consumers may suffer less damage,sometimes considering the cost of litigation,they often choose to waive their rights protection.Consumer associations can only advocate the action of inaction when they initiate consumer public interest litigation,and it is even difficult to maintain the right of consumers who win the lawsuit.However,in judicial practice,there are cases that propose the right of claim for damage compensations in consumer public interest litigation.Taking the fake salt case in Guangdong Province in 2017 as an example,Consumer Association claimed the right of compensation for damages when they bring consumer public interest litigation,and the court support the claim of compensation for damages.Therefore,it is a trend of the development of consumer public interest litigation to claim for damages.Besides the foreword and conclusion,this paper is split into four parts:Part one: the interpretation of the principle of the right of claim for damages on consumer public interest litigation,it is different from private interest litigation.Consumer associations at or above the provincial level can file consumer public interest litigation.Consumer associations themselves disinterest in the case,and their litigation rights are legally empowered by Law.First of all,it interprets the consumer public interest litigation,and then analyzes the application and insufficiency of the traditional way of bearing responsibility mainly based on “action of inaction”.Finally,under the background that the traditional way of bearing responsibility is not enough to adapt to the judicial practice,it illuminates the necessity of claiming the right of claim for damages.The second part: the current situation of the right of claim for damages in consumer public interest litigation in China.The law and judicial interpretation do not clearly clarify whether to claim the right of compensation for damages in consumer public interest litigation,but it is reasonable to claim the right of compensation for damages in consumer public interest litigation,and there are cases supported by the court in judicial practice;in the absence of clear provisions in the law,there are many problems for consumer associations to claim the right of compensation for damages,which need to be solved in the laws and regulations.Corresponding regulations need to be made in the supporting system.The third part: the comparison of claims for damages in consumer public interest litigation outside China.The consumer association lawsuit in Germany,the United States and Japan all stipulate that the right of claim for damages can be claimed in association lawsuit or class action,and there are a series of systems and supporting measures to guarantee the implementation.The consumer public interest action in China has only developed for only several years,who can draw lessons from the legal provisions and system design of foreign countries,based on the national conditions of China.On the basis of this,it provides a reference for the claim of compensation for damages in consumer public interest litigation in China.The fourth part: suggestions on the improvement of claims for damages in consumer public interest litigation.Claiming the right of claim for damages in consumer public interest litigation needs the cooperation of legal provisions and corresponding systems.First,the right of claim for damages should be granted to the consumer associations at or above the provincial level in law to determine the subject qualification of the plaintiff.Second,the scope of application of the right of claim for damages in consumer public interest litigation should be limited,and the law should clearly stipulate which circumstance can claim damages compensation;thirdly,using the "two-stage" trial mode of Japan for reference,we should separate the identification of tort and allocation of damage;finally,we should formulate management regulations for the affirmation,distribution,management and supervision of formulating regulations,so as to protect and maintain the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.