New law may support mental distress suits

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-12-23  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA'S top legislature might add mental distress to the conditions covered under the country's tort law to improve civil rights protection.

The long-awaited draft tort law, designed to provide compensation for people whose rights are violated, was submitted to the National People's Congress Standing Committee yesterday for a second reading.

"Existing laws don't clearly stipulate provisions for mental distress, but there are already many cases in which such claims have been made," said Li Shishi, vice chairman of the NPC Law Committee.

In most cases, people experience both economic loss and mental distress when their civil rights are violated, so the latter should also be covered by law, Li told legislators.

The 1987 general principles of Civil Law cover only rights to name, image, reputation and honor. No compensation for mental distress in cases involving death or injury was mentioned.

With an increase in claims for mental distress, the Supreme People's Court in 2001 issued a judicial interpretation that stipulated detailed conditions under which victims can claim compensation.

Yang Lixin, a law professor at the Renmin University of China, said the civil law principles are "not complete," and including mental compensation in the tort law draft would rectify a "key defect" in China's legal system.

Torts include all negligence cases as well as intentional wrongs that result in harm.

Under the draft, only people whose life or health are seriously damaged would be entitled to compensation.

Given the complexity of mental distress cases, the draft doesn't stipulate a uniform compensation standard.

The draft also covers compensation for harm from defective products.

It stipulates that victims can seek "punitive damages," which could be more than their actual losses, if companies knowingly produce and sell defective products.

Companies that fail to warn customers, recall defective products or take other effective measures to remedy damage would face tort liability.

"The provisions are directly linked to the Sanlu scandal," said Yang, referring to the company that made infant baby powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine.

In contrast to other civil laws like the property law, which tells people what their rights are, the tort law tells people how to protect their rights, Yang said.

The draft covers compensation for a wide range of cases, including traffic accidents, medical accidents, job injuries, pollution, Internet abuse and even harm caused by other people's pets.