单层制改革背景下独立董事法律义务与责任研究

Research on the Legal Obligations and Responsibilities of Independent Directors under the Background of Single-Tier System Reform

我国独董制度长期以上市公司为背景展开规范,2023年12月29日公司法的修订将独董制度延伸至非上市股份公司治理结构,将面临独董规范的立法空白。独董的职能应包括公司内部治理优化和对外投资者保护两个方面,并分别构成独董承担公司法和证券法义务的基础,但在立法与实践中往往将两者混淆。董事信义义务规则可以参照适用于独立董事,但应当正视独董在信息获取渠道上的局限性,较执行董事承担更为宽松的责任标准,以商业判断规则的精神评价独董是否勤勉尽责,且不宜盲目扩大义务范围。在决定独董是否承担自付责任时,应当确立可预期、有合理救济范围的责任减免机制,包括章程豁免条款、董责险和赔偿责任上限规则。

Against the backdrop of long-term regulation of the independent director system in listed companies in China,on December 29,2023,the amendment to the Company Law extended the independent director system to the governance structure of non-listed joint-stock companies,facing a legislative void in the regulation of independent directors.The functions of independent directors should include optimizing internal corporate governance and protecting external investors,which respectively constitute the basis for independent directors to bear legal obligations under company law and securities law.However,in legislation and practice,these two aspects are often confused.The fiduciary duty rules for directors can be referenced for independent directors,but the limitations of independent directors in accessing information should be acknowledged.They should bear a more lenient standard of responsibility compared to executive directors,evaluating whether they are diligent and responsible in the spirit of business judgment rules,and it is not advisable to blindly expand the scope of their legal obligations.When determining whether independent directors should bear personal liability,a mechanism for foreseeable responsibility reduction with reasonable remedial scope should be established,including provisions for exemption in the articles of association,director liability insurance,and rules on the limitation of compensation liability.