针对第三方的约定救济机制——公司债权人保护的新路径

Contractual Remedy against Third Parties——A New Approach in Corporate Creditor Protection

传统债权人保护措施以法律规则和针对债务人的合同约定为主,但法定保护具有固有缺陷,缺乏灵活性和时效性,难以应对公司领域因各种创新安排所产生的新情况;现有合同救济措施囿于合同相对性原则,仅约束作为债务人的公司本身。在公司债务人陷于财务困境且其责任财产无法清偿所有债权时,现有保护措施都无法为债权人提供及时充分的救济。借鉴美国公司法领域新近提出的思路,尝试扩展对合同手段的运用,探索一种向第三方寻求救济的约定机制,向受益于债务人违约行为的第三方(股东、关联方、其他债权人等)寻求救济,增加一种公司债权人保护的路径。

Traditional creditor protection emphasizes protection from legal rules and contractual provisions against debtor. However, either approach has its intrinsic defects. Lack of flexibility and time effectiveness, legal protection on creditors encounters difficulty in meeting with new situations arising from innovative commercial arrangements in corporate domains. Subject to Contract Privity Doctrine, current contractual remedy could restrict the debtor company itself only. Neither way of protection would provide timely sufficient remedy to the creditor when the debtor company is already in insolvency and incapable of satisfying all the creditors. A proposed solution here references from US corporate research circle and tries to expand usage of contract to explore a new mechanism of remedy that would permit creditors and debtors to contract for creditor remedies against third parties？shareholders, corporate affiliates and other creditors———with the purpose of finding a new approach in corporate creditor protection.