According to a survey published by the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily, respondents showed overwhelming support for the tort law. At the same time, nearly 80 percent of the 1,800 respondents were most concerned about claims against hospitals' performing unnecessary examinations and the liability from throwing objects from high-rise buildings.
The law provides that all households in a building where objects are thrown from a roof must be liable and pay for damages if the perpetrator cannot be found. This provision had previously stirred up online debates about whether innocent households should be held liable.
Prof. Wang Jun said the provision could guarantee justice, considering the difficulty for the victim to provide evidence, and it "shows a preference towards the less unfavorable when faced with two unfavorable choices."
On the other side, laws should be made in the hope of improving social norms to some extent and the tort law would gauge social behavior in the long run, Prof. Wang Jun said.
"The fact that many households agree to install cameras around buildings to avoid common liability is a typical example. Fewer people will throw things off a building if the building is being monitored," Wang said.
