PUNITIVE DAMAGES AND THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE DISTINCTION: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ITALY

In this paper, he criticizes the Italian rejection of punitive damages by offering a comparative analysis of the treatment punitive damages receive in the US and the Italian legal discourse, with a special focus on the relationship between this tort law remedy and the public/private distinction. He uses the findings of Part II to illuminate and critically assess the Italian rejection of punitive damages. In Part III, he argues that in Italy too tort law mixes public and private elements. In Part IV, without any pretense of being exhaustive, he analyzes three situations where the Italian system is remedially deficient. He argues that punitive damages could be very useful in solving the following long-standing problems: when the wrongdoer's gain exceeds the loss suffered by the victim; when the wrongful action harms personality rights currently protected by the criminal law; and when a harm is caused to a number of people but it is likely that few, if any, of them will bring an action seeking damages.