我国《消法》第49条惩罚性赔偿法律适用探讨

On Application of Law on Punitive Damages in Section 49 of Law for the Protection of Consumers' Right and Interests of P. R. C

《消费者权益保护法》第49条惩罚性赔偿的法律适用在理论和实践中争议颇大。文章重点阐述了实践中分歧较大的法律适用主体、范围及合理度等问题,认为适用《消法》第49条惩罚性赔偿的受益人应为消费者,该条既可以适用于侵权行为,亦可以适用于合同违约行为,其惩罚赔偿额度应当据实际情况作出有利于消费者的调整。

There remains much controversy concerning application of punitive damages in section 49 of Law for the Protection of Consumers' Right and Interests in theory as well as practice. The paper, based on an analysis of the application of this system covering its entities, scopes and advisability, concludes that the beneficiary of the Section 49 should be the consumer, and the punitive damages should be applied in cases of both torts and defaults. In addition, the advisability should be adjusted in order to protect the consumer.