Punitive Damages – A Modern Conundrum of Ancient Origin

The problem of punitive damages in tort law besets many modern legal systems, especially those belonging to the English common law tradition. It raises a number of the most fundamental questions: the aims and functions of punishment, those of delictual (tortious) liability, and generally the relationship between public (criminal) law and private law; and all that on the background of constitutional principles. No wonder that, in a series of recent decisions of the US Supreme Court, dissent was common and as a foreseeable reaction lengthy, learned academic articles appeared in the law reviews. The present author could not resist proffering an additional one, in the hope that a number of historical and comparative aspects might be of interest in the ongoing discussion.