惩罚性赔偿的含义及其功能

惩罚性赔偿是英美法系中普通法上的一个特有的法律救济制度 ,是我国民事立法和民法学上的一项新课题。目前理论界有关惩罚性赔偿的含义 ,无论是广义说还是狭义说 ,在加害人的获利大于受害人的损失时和加害人有逃脱责任的机会时 ,均不能科学地揭示惩罚性赔偿的内涵 ,为此文章对惩罚性赔偿的含义作出了新的界定。同时 ,通过经济分析 ,对补偿性赔偿的不足和惩罚性赔偿所具有的补偿、惩罚、威慑等功能进行了新的阐述。

Penal compensation is a particular legal relief system of common law in England and the U.S.A. It is also a new topic for study on China's civil law and civil legislations. The contemporary concepts of penal compensation, in neither broad sense nor narrow sense, can scientifically reveal its connotation, especially when the inflicter's gain is more than the victim's loss and the inflicter has chances to escape liabilities. The author redefines penal compensation. Through economic analysis, the essay expounds the defects of relief compensation and the relief, penal, deterrent functions of penal compensation.