At its annual conference in November 2010, the Ius Commune Research School devoted its Liability and Insurance Workshop to "The Power of Punitive Damages." European legal scholars and policy makers - in their search for better ways to enforce private and public legal rules, prevent damage, and compensate victims of grave wrongdoing - showed an increased interest in this particular private law remedy. In this book, 22 contributors reflect on the pros/cons, applicability, aims, and limitations of punitive damages in terms of different legal themes. The result is a unique collection of thoughts, suggestions, and critical questions which takes the European punitive damages debate to the next level. The book improves perception of the private law sanction - which is often feared by Europeans - and its common law background, but it also gives new insights with regard to the question of whether European societies are missing out by not adding this powerful penal incentive to the already existing array of private law remedies.