董事對第三人責任之建構

Reconstructing Directors’Liabilities to Third Parties

本文探討公司法中董事對第三人責任規定之定性問題，梳理司法實務見解之轉變，同時觀察日本法對此問題之發展，重新檢討該規定之功能。本文以日本法為研究對象之理由在於，有學者指出我國公司法有關董事對第三人責任之規定，係繼受於日本法，故應採取與日本法相同之定性。亦即，日本最高法院早於半世紀前，對於日本當時商法中有關董事對第三人責任之規定，採取「法律特別規定」之見解，而非「特殊侵權行為」之見解。但日本法之規定內容，不僅與我國公司法不盡相同，日本法學界對日本最高法院之見解亦有諸多批評，甚至有學者主張應刪除日本公司法中有關董事對第三人責任之規定。由此可知，以我國公司法繼受日本法之規定為由，即認為我國應採取與日本法相同之見解，顯有疑義。另一方面，近年我國司法實務確立法人自己行為侵權責任後，值得關注者，在一定情況下，董事似無必要對第三人負損害賠償責任，此是否意涵著董事對第三人責任規定之功能，未來有朝向限縮之方向邁進。

This article examines the legal characterization of directors’liabilities to third parties under Taiwan’s company law to review the function of the statutory stipulation, with particular attention to the evolution of judicial decisions and the comparative development of Japanese law. The focus on Japan stems from the observation of commentators that the relevant provision of Taiwan’s Company Act on directors’liabilities to third parties was transplanted from Japanese law and shall be amended in accordance with its Japanese counterpart. On this basis, some commentators argue that Taiwan should adopt the same characterization as in Japan. Notably, more than half a century ago, the Japanese Supreme Court construed the then Commercial Code provision as a“special statutory rule,”rather than as a“special tort liability provision.”This view, however, has faced constant challenges and criticisms raised by Japanese scholars, some even proposing the deletion of the provision altogether. Such debates suggest that reliance on the Japanese transplant alone is apparently insufficient to justify the argument that the same characterization shall be adopted in Taiwan. On the other hand, recent judicial decisions in Taiwan recognizing that once the tort liability of corporations for their own acts was ascertained, the necessity of holding directors personally liable to third parties appears to be less compelling in certain circumstances. This development raises the prospect that the functional role of directors’liability to third parties may be progressively applied narrowly.