上市公司财务报告虚假陈述民事责任的认定

Identification of Civil liability for Misrepresentation in Financial Reporting

上市公司财务报告虚假陈述的民事责任的要件包括:虚假陈述及其重大性、过错、损害、因果关系。与一般侵权行为法相比,上述要件具有一定的特殊性。虚假陈述的民事诉讼要处理好保护投资者与维护信息披露义务人的正当权益之间的关系。一方面,要追究上市公司及有关人员提供虚假财务报告,侵害投资者及其他关系人利益的责任,以惩罚虚假陈述行为、保护投资者利益,维护市场的健康有序发展。另一方面,也要严格把握民事赔偿责任的构成要件,防止滥诉行为。我国对虚假陈述的民事责任的认定,尚存在一些不完善或不明确之处,需要加以改进。

The elements of civil liability for misrepresentation in financial reporting include: misrepresentation and its materiality, fault, loss, the causation between investor's loss and defendant's fault. These elements, compared with ordinary infringement acts, are distinctive to some extent. Civil action against misrepresentation should deal well with the relation between the interests of investors and information providers. On the one hand, liabilities for misrepresentation in financial reporting should be thoroughly investigated so as to punish people involved in the infringement act and protect the interests of investors to ensure a healthy development of the market. On the other hand, elements of liability to pay compensations must be examined strictly so as to prevent abuse of civil action. Relevant rules concerning identification of liability for misrepresentation in financial reporting in China, however, are far from adequate and need improving.