Discussion on calculation of damages and negotiation mechanism in environmental infringement punitive compensation

In order to implement and deepen the judicial application of punitive damages in environmental torts, we made discussions on calculation basis, a reasonable amount of compensation, payment and distribution, and the relations with fines and penalties. They were conducted aiming at the environment pollution and ecology destroying in Chapter 7 of <italic>the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China</italic> and at the <italic>Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Ecological and Environmental Infringement Dispute Cases</italic>, and were studied on the basis of clarifying both the range and payment sequence of the claimant body for compensation and on the basis of the related cases on punitive damages. It was concluded that application of punitive compensation should be cautious. Its calculation mode and amount determination need match with the losses of environmental functions, including the service function loss during the restoration of ecological environment and the permanent loss of ecological environment functions, without relations with the restoration costs for ecological environment restoration; punitive damages and fines can be applied in parallel in environmental infringement cases, and their collection can refer to the practice of fines and be allocated according to the type of damage they need to remedy. In cases of serious environmental violations, an innovative mechanism of "segmented consultation, segmented contracting and segmented implementation" is appropriate for the environmental damage consultation.