Abstract Although not cited directly as the formal basis for judgments in tort claims,public policies exert an immediate impact on judicial proceedings and their results . Through an analysis of tort claims in Communique of the Supreme People's Court,this essay combines the policy science in public administration with the tortuous liability in civil law,adopts an empirical approach,and discusses public policies in tort claims from a multidisciplinary perspective . We attempt to describe what and why public policies are considered,and how public policies are implemented in judging tort claims . Significant influence is imposed on the result of tort claims by such public policies as value priority,social environment,order management,liability insurance and so on . Generally,the court decides the scope of protection according to the value priority of benefits . However,the decision is also affected by the social contextual factors in a given period .Furthermore,administrative factors prevent the court from getting involved in various social disputes . In addition,the existence of insurance constitutes a potential reason for judgments against the defendant . There are mainly three justifications for public policies to be considered in judging tort claims,namely,to implement tort liability law,to make tortuous liability fit in with social advances,and to transform the court's role in the modern society . Such purposes of the tort liability law as″freedomof action″a nd″value of security″a re substantiatedin all kinds of values in specific cases,namely,where to weigh values is to consider public policies . In judging tort claims,the court attaches importance to social background together with the social effects of settlement of tortuous disputes,which is an important way for tortuous liability to fit in with social advances . Modern courts have abandoned the one-sided concept of formal justice,and turned to considering public policies in judging tort claims for substantial justice . From a structural perspective of tortuous liability,the above public policies can be implemented by admitting damage,identifying negligence,determining the sequence of cause and effect,allowing defenses,etc . To a certain extent,public policies decide whether relevant parties'f actual damage is admissible by the court to award a relief . Besides,there is some disagreement andcontroversy over the connotation of negligence,which needs to be settled by the court in considering various factors,including public policies in specific cases . Another key issue in determining liability is the remoteness of damage,and public policies play a vital role in defining it . Finally,valid defenses are allowed to exempt or mitigate tortuous liability and thus implement public policies in tort claims .
|