环境惩罚性赔偿制度的妥当责任边界——以美国埃克森案展开

The Proper Liability Boundaries of Environmental Punitive Damages System: Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker case as a Reference

一切责任均有边界,但其功能的发挥以向公众显明为前提。我国环境惩罚性赔偿制度的责任边界尚处蒙蔽之中,法官不能借助其填补执法落差、实施社会威慑,公民也无法从中获取可预测性与可计算性价值。将妥当的责任边界公之于众有助于扭转上述颓势,美国埃克森案为这一目标的实现提供了有益参考。《民法典》第1232条的妥当责任边界包含三个层级:首先裁判者以"等比规则"为基础确定外部责任边界;随后通过五项可责性要素确定责任系数、形成内部责任边界、尝试减轻责任;最后藉由参考指导性判例形成微观责任边界,使法官定责时兼顾个案灵活性与类案统一性。

All liability has boundaries, but its function is premised on its visibility to the public. The liability boundaries of China’s environmental punitive damages system are still obscured. Judges are unable to use them to fill the enforcement gap or to provide social deterrence, and also citizens are unable to derive predictable and calculable values from them. The Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker case provides a useful reference for reversing this trend by making the proper boundaries of liability publicly available. The proper boundaries of liability in Article 1232 of the Civil Code consist of three levels: first, the judge determines the external boundaries of liability based on the"rule of equivalence";then, the five elements of reprehensibility would be used to determine the coefficient of liability, to form the internal boundaries of liability and to attempt to mitigate liability;and finally, the micro boundaries of liability are formed by reference to the guiding jurisprudence so that judges can balance the flexibility of individual cases with the uniformity of similar cases when determining liability.