實質董事之法律定位與責任建構

Legal Status and Responsibilities of De Facto and Shadow Directors

公司法於2012年修正時，增訂第8條第3項，規範公開發行公司之實質負貴人（實贊董事），包括事實上董事及影子董事，2018年修正時，擴大適用範圍至非公開發行公司·目前之規定，將實質負貴人定義為非董事，然須與董事同負民事、刑事及行政罰之貴任，由於我國並未規範事實上董事與影子董事之義務，與國外立法例不同·規範方式仍有討論及修正之空間·本文由我國實務及國外立法例，探究有關事實上董事與影子董事之規範·研究之方向，主要包括各國公司法如何對事實上董事與影子董事之定義？是否對其應負之義務加以規範？是否有明確之認定標準？對於應負費任之部分，是否與董事仍有所區分？本文由經典的最高法院101年度台抗字第861號民事栽定出發，檢視修法後之相關判決，並参考國外規範，分析實贊負貴人於實務上之認定標準與黄任建構，並於適當地方提出修法建議。

In 2012, the Taiwan Company Act began to regulate de facto and shadow directors of public companies, and under the 2018 amendment, regulation was extended to nonpublic companies. De facto and shadow directors are not defined as directors but are subject to the same civil and criminal liabilities as directors are. Because current law in Taiwan is silent on the duties of de facto and shadow directors, such duties remain a topic of discussion and subject to potential amendments. This article compares the law in Taiwan with that in other jurisdictions that have specific laws regulating de facto and shadow directors. The author reviews some major domestic and foreign judicial decisions involving de facto and shadow directors. The discussion centers on the following concerns: (1) How are de facto and shadow directors defined in other jurisdictions? (2) Do foreign laws impose director duties on de facto and shadow directors? If so, how? (3) Are there criteria or a test for determining one's status as a de facto or shadow director? (4) Are de facto and shadow directors subject to the same liabilities as a director? This article begins with a discussion of a leading Taiwan Supreme Court ruling addressing the issue of whether a de facto director can be treated as the representative of a legal entity and then reviews the judicial decisions handed down after the addition of Article 8 Paragraph 3 to the Company Act as well as foreign cases. The purpose of this article is to indicate the criteria or test for identifying de facto and shadow directors and determmine their legal responsibilities.