Research on Punitive Compensation System in Civil Public Interest

Abstract

With the gradual implementation of the Civil Code and its judicial interpretations, the application of punitive damages in public-interest civil litigation has attracted increasing scholarly and practical attention. Beginning with an examination of the institution’s evolution and theoretical justification, this article analyses its distinctive position within the public-interest litigation framework and its normative foundations. It argues that the mechanism simultaneously exhibits public-and private-law attributes, aiming through supra-compensatory awards to punish and deter wrongdoing while financing the restoration of collective interests. Nevertheless, the current regime confronts structural difficulties: fragmentary legal bases, disputes over standing, inconsistent quantification criteria, and unguided judicial discretion. To resolve these problems, the article proposes a systematic amendment to the Civil Procedure Law that clarifies the conditions under which punitive damages may be sought and the bases on which they are calculated, constructs an integrated subjective-objective test for liability, and establishes both a dedicated public-interest litigation fund and tailored procedural tracks. In this way the system would shift from ex post compensation to ex ante risk prevention. The study seeks to advance the standardisation, refinement and juridification of punitive damages in China’s public-interest civil litigation.