On the Liability of Directors to Third Parties—From the Perspective of Article 191 of the “Company Law”

《公司法》第一百九十一条所构建董事对第三人责任之体系，从其正当性角度而言，看似突破了传统公司法人人格独立的理论框架，但实为完善公司内部机关与外部第三人之间利益保护的法律制度，实现了新公司法背景下对内部董事滥权行为的有效规制和外部债权人交易安全的有效保障。关于董事对第三人责任之构成要件，现行法律对此并未作出具体规定，文章主张参照民法典侵权责任编将其分为违法行为、主观过错、因果关系及损害后果四部分进行逐一规制。董事对第三人承担损害赔偿的责任类型、责任范围在第一百九十一条中规定不明，存在司法自由裁量乃至违背立法本意的可能，文章旨在于董事对第三人责任体系初步构建的基础之上，对其设立该当性、构成要件及法律适用进行研究。From the perspective of its legitimacy, the system of directors’ liability to third parties established in Article 191 of the “Company Law” seems to break through the theoretical framework of the independence of the traditional corporate personality, but in fact, it improves the legal system for the protection of the interests of internal organs and external third parties, and realizes the effective regulation of the abuse of power by internal directors and the effective guarantee of the transaction security of external creditors under the background of the new Company Law. As for the constitutive elements of directors’ liability to third parties, the current law does not make specific provisions on this, so this article advocates that it be divided into four parts: illegal acts, subjective faults, causal relationships and harmful consequences with reference to the tort liability section of the Civil Code. The type and scope of liability of directors for damages to third parties are unclear in Article 191, and there is the possibility of judicial discretion or even contrary to the original intent of the legislation.