A função punitiva da responsabilidade civil e a influência dos punitive damages no direito brasileiro

Abstract

This study examines the challenges surrounding the quantification of moral damages in Brazilian civil liability law, emphasizing the absence of objective legal criteria for determining compensation. The research analyzes the theoretical foundations of the compensatory, preventive, and punitive functions of civil liability, as well as the feasibility of adopting a punitive or pedagogical rationale in the calculation of indemnities. Using the deductive method, the work compares the Brazilian system with the North American punitive damages model, highlighting its structural differences and the limits imposed by Brazilian law. In the third chapter, a non-exhaustive jurisprudential analysis is conducted, based on representative cases from the Superior Court of Justice, in order to observe how the punitive or pedagogical function has been applied in practice. The results indicate that, although Brazilian courts occasionally majorate indemnities with the aim of discouraging new illicit acts, such practice does not equate to the direct adoption of punitive damages, given the barriers imposed by principles such as proportionality, reasonableness, and the prohibition of unjust enrichment. The study concludes by stressing the importance of improving or establishing more objective criteria for the assessment of moral damages, in order to promote greater legal certainty and ensure effective protection of individual rights.