Punitive damages

Punitive damages is a Common Law remedy which intented for punitive and preventive functions. Punitive damages occurs when there is a tortious act. Regardless of the pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage occurred, it is determined by the jury within a wide discretion. The jury will decide on an appropriate amount, taking into account the gravity of the fault, the way the act took place, and the wealth of the infringer. In terms of Continental European Law, the main rule to determine the amount of the compensation in the tort is the restoration. Functions such as general and specific prevention, private enforcement are not accepted as an element in determining compensation, but are considered as side effects. Although the main aspect is compensatory damages, it is seen that different sanctions are included in the provisions such as RKHK Art. 58/II, TBK Art. 355 in terms of punishment (retaliation) and general prevention function. A legal system's response to a violation must be considered as a whole. When an evaluation is made in terms of Continental Europe, it is seen that an effective prevention and punishment can be achieved thanks to the punishment and prevention function provided by the independent administrative authorities by ruling administrative fines, the skimming of the profits from the infringer through acting without authority (negotiorum gestio), and the increase in the amount of non-pecuniary damages in certain case groups. For this reason, there is no need to extract a sanction formed within the specific conditions of another legal system. Thus, there is no need for punitive damages in Turkish Law.