Supreme People’s Court Issued Interpretation on Punitive Damages for Food and Drug Disputes

The Supreme People's Court (“SPC”) of the People's Republic of China (“PRC”) has recently promulgated the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law to the Trial of Cases of Disputes over Punitive Damages in Food and Drugs (“Interpretation”), taking effect from August 22, 2024. The Interpretation has 19 articles in total covering various aspects regarding punitive damages related to food and drug as prescribed in related laws. This newsletter will focus on punitive damages in the food sector only.

The history of punitive damages in the food sector in China began with the introduction of punitive damages in Article 49 of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers in 1993. Currently, the punitive damages regarding food could be found in the following provisions:

Please click here to read the full newsletter.
 

^[i] The afore-mentioned losses include medical expenses, nursing expenses etc. for treatment and recovery, expenses on self-help devices and living allowances in case of disability, funeral expenses and pay compensations for death of the victims, and applicable compensation for mental damages.