Introduction: the authors examine the concept of exemplary (punitive) damages, well known to common law countries, including the history of the emergence of this institution, its functions, and trends in legal regulation.

Purpose: to compare punitive damages with other forms of civil liability, including those of over-compensatory (punitive) nature; to formulate the preconditions for awarding them; to assess the prospects of the implementation of this institution in Russian legislation and to outline possible areas of its application.

Methods: dogmatic method, historical method, comparative legal analysis.

Conclusions: tort law reforms in the United States and other common law countries have transformed punitive damages from so-called windfall into a socially useful tool that makes it possible to punish selectively and to deter wrongdoing by persons who consciously disregard the rights and legitimate interests of others. This explains the inclusion of norms on punitive damages in the civil legislation of some Asian countries (PRC, South Korea) as well as the discussion held in the doctrine of continental Europe. Assessing the prospects of the introduction of punitive damages in Russian law, the authors note the presence in Russian civil legislation of sanctions that fulfil similar functions, highlighting the excessiveness of these sanctions in the regulation of relations under consumer law. It is proposed to adjust the existing model of consumer fine (part 6 of Article 13 of the Consumer Protection Law) in terms of the prerequisites for its collection and the ‘beneficiaries’ of the awarded amount.