Responsibility of Individuals Managing a Legal Entity

Abstract

The problem of liability of persons managing a legal entity was raised in Russian civil law after the adoption of legislation on joint-stock companies. At the beginning, it was more theoretical in nature, since the civil legislation did not contain any mechanisms for the implementation of such liability. To date, due to the reform of the Civil Code and changing approaches in jurisprudence, disputes concerning property liability of directors have formed a considerable category of cases. The paper analyzes the elements of such civil wrongs as damage caused to a legal entity by persons who are members of the managerial boards and are able to exercise a significant impact on such boards. All elements of the civil wrong under consideration are being analyzed: the act, the consequences (damage), the causal link between the act and the consequences, and the fault of the wrong-doer. The paper also elucidates the participants involved in such disputes. Exploring specific court cases, the author shows which acts of directors are recognized by the courts as illegal, what restrictions are expressed in the legal standings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation to qualify as illegal different acts of directors and other persons. In the vast majority of cases of this category, persons exercising the functions of the sole executive body are prosecuted. Sometimes they are also the participants at the same time. The scope of persons covered by the term “determining the acts of a legal entity” is not defined in the law, which also hampers judicial practice. Judicial proceedings bringing such persons to justice are exceptional. Therefore, the author proposes to define in the Civil Code all persons who can commit an act and thereby cause damage to a legal entity. In addition, it is proposed to establish criteria of unreasonableness and dishonesty of actions of directors and other persons.