Study On Damages In Consumer Civil Public Interest Litigation

With the continuous expansion of China’s economic scale and the continuous updating of trading methods,the number of large-scale infringement cases in the consumer sector is increasing,in order to better safeguard the public interest,consumer civil public interest litigation emerged.Since the establishment of the consumer civil public interest litigation system,whether to establish the claim for damages has been a theoretical dispute,the relevant legislation and judicial interpretation has not been clearly listed,so whether the plaintiff of consumer civil public interest litigation can request the defendant to bear the liability for damages has not been clearly stipulated by law.At the same time,the judicial practice has carried out a useful exploration,but there is a problem of determining the application of confusion,forming a "legislative sleep,judicial restlessness" situation.In order to promote the perfection of the system of consumer civil public interest litigation,it is necessary to demonstrate the necessity and feasibility of establishing damages in consumer civil public interest litigation,and to construct the rules for establishing the specific implementation path of damages.On the one hand,in the case of large-scale infringement in the field of consumption,it is necessary to establish damages to establish damages because it can overcome the deficiency of the traditional compensation model and make up for the effectiveness of the right of non-claim and realize the deterrence of wrongful acts and the relief of public interest.On the other hand,it is reasonable to propose damages for the purpose of remedying the public interest,and the public welfare attribute of punitive compensation is also in line with the system function of public interest litigation.Through the purpose interpretation and system interpretation of the right to claim damages there is room for legal application,China’s judicial practice and extraterritorial legislation has also formed a more useful model,so it is feasible to establish damages in consumer civil public interest litigation.The conflict between public welfare damages and private damages can be solved in the construction of specific rules.Because the public interest damage and personal damage in the consumption field are difficult to distinguish accurately,it is suggested to abandon the positive calculation method of connotation definition and take the method of demarcating the total amount and excluding it from it.Based on the sale price of the illegal operator,the amount of damages is calculated,and by introducing the deposit system of damages,consumers can claim the return of the winning claim,so as to protect the consumer’s right to claim damages and avoid the duplicate compensation of the illegal operator.Punitive compensation should not be classified as the multiple of private interest litigation,it should be determined by the judge according to the illegal operator’s degree of damage to the public interest,liability capacity and other comprehensive factors,to avoid excessive punishment leading to the effect of defeat.Under the premise that public interest litigation has realized the punishment of illegal operators,consumers lose the legitimacy basis of obtaining punitive compensation and have no right to claim punitive compensation.Consumer public welfare funds should be established to manage damages,so that the winning interests can continue to provide relief to consumers or bear the subsequent expenditure of consumer public interest litigation.