| Punitive compensation for environmental tort is crucial to China’s environmental protection.Article 1232 of the Civil Code formally introduces punitive compensation in the field of environmental tort.In response to its dispute,the Supreme People’s Court has issued relevant judicial interpretation,which indicates that China’s punitive compensation system for environmental tort is constantly improving.However,the relevant aspects are still unclear or have gaps,making it difficult to cope with complex and ever-changing practical needs.Therefore,this article starts from the practical controversy of the application of punitive damages in environmental infringement,and based on elucidating its legal principles,further analyzes the problems in the implementation of this system,and attempts to propose comprehensive suggestions.This article is divided into four parts besides the introduction.The first part is the legislative evolution and practical controversy of punitive damages for environmental infringement.Firstly,the legal provisions on punitive damages for environmental infringement in China were reviewed.Then,from a practical perspective,typical cases were searched and analyzed to summarize the disputes that exist in the application process of punitive damages for environmental infringement.The second part is the theoretical basis of the punitive compensation system for environmental infringement.Firstly,the concept of punitive damages for environmental infringement was clarified.The main functions of this system are to punish and deter environmental infringers,and to compensate and motivate environmental victims;Secondly,it elaborates on the rationality of the application of punitive damages in the field of environmental infringement in China,highlighting the justice value of law and the compatibility with the concept of ecological civilization;Finally,the controversy among some scholars regarding the scope of application of the system was sorted out,and it was determined that punitive damages should be applied to both environmental private interest litigation and environmental public interest litigation.The third part is about the issues arising from the implementation of punitive damages for environmental infringement.By reviewing relevant regulations in China and abroad,the disputes over punitive damages for environmental infringement in practice are mainly manifested in:The scope of application of subjective elements is narrow;The burden of proof and the standard of proof are unclear;The calculation standards for punitive damages are unclear and the attribution is blank;The relevant supporting facilities for punitive damages for environmental infringement are incomplete.The fourth part is the path to improve the legal application of punitive damages for environmental infringement.Based on the previous text,the following suggestions are proposed:Gross negligence should be included in subjective elements,and gross negligence should also be punished;Clarify the allocation of burden of proof,and the infringee should bear the preliminary burden of proving the causal relationship in environmental infringement cases;The calculation of punitive damages should be considered from two aspects:base and multiple.The determination of the base can refer to the virtual governance cost method,and the attribution of punitive damages should also be clarified;Improve relevant supporting systems,fully leverage the role of environmental pollution liability insurance,and explore alternative performance methods for punitive damages.Improve the judicial appraisal mechanism from three aspects:number of institutions,unified fee standards,and talent cultivation. |
