Who's Afraid of Punitive Damages?

In 1992, the German Bundesgerichtshof held that 'enforcing lump-sum punitive damages of a not inconsiderable amount in Germany is clearly incompatible with fundamental principles of German law'. Whereas German courts have maintained this outright rejection of foreign punitive damages awards, many other jurisdictions have developed a more nuanced approach in recent years. Against this background, this first of two volumes dedicated to the changing law of damages addresses the reasons for the general hostility to punitive damages in civil law jurisdictions, their evolution in US law, and recent developments in international law before looking more closely at six countries to answer the question: 'Who is (still) afraid of punitive damages. '