独立董事制度, 自2001年引入以来在中国上市公司治理层面起了重要作用。 然而康美药业案判 决五位时任的独立董事在一定比例范围内承担共计3.69亿元的巨额赔偿, 引发中国独立董事的辞 职热潮。 作为兼职的独立董事, 面对虚假陈述纠纷, 应如何承担责任?承担何种责任?承担责任的依 据和来源究竟是什么?事实上, 2022年修改之前的《虚假陈述司法解释》因存在提起民事诉讼的前置 程序, 要求独立董事承担民事责任的案件极为少数, 即便是有也都因为承担责任的赔偿额较少而未 被关注。 中国证监会、 国务院先后出台的《上市公司独立董事规则》（简称《独董规则》）、 《关于上市公 司独立董事制度改革的意见》（简称《意见》）多是维护中小投资者利益。 2023年7月, 中国证监会为落 实《意见》的实施, 公布了《上市公司独立董事管理办法》（简称《独董办法》）对独立董事制度进行了优 化 ; 同年12月底, 全国人大常委会审议通过的《中华人民共和国公司法》（简称新《公司法》）也旨在维 护中小投资者利益, 强化了董监高责任, 对独立董事制度及责任承担问题起到的作用并不明显。 基于新《公司法》及《独董办法》的最新规定, 在深入探讨康美药业中独立董事的承担责任问题 时, 指出作为董事会成员的独立董事理应勤勉尽责, 对证券虚假陈述纠纷承担责任。 受2019年《证券 法》新增特别代表人诉讼制度影响, 康美药业案中的五位独立董事被列为被告, 导致其面临3.69亿 元的巨额赔偿, 将这半句话删除。 出于对独立董事自身利益的考量, 法院在司法过程中会综合考量 独立董事的职责特点, 对独立董事责任和内部董事责任予以区分。 但因立法层面缺乏对独立董事责 任的具体规定, 导致了不同的裁判标准和结果。 而康美药业案发后, 出现大量独立董事辞职的现象, 也恰好反映了中国独立董事在责任承担层面所面临的一系列困境 : 首先, 由于缺乏明确的法律法 规对独立董事责任进行界定, 司法过程中法官的自由裁量权得以扩大, 从而导致不同的裁判标准及判决结果。 其次, 勤勉尽责的标准未予明确, 独立董事承担责任过重, 而学术界对于独立董事适用 何种形态的民事赔偿责任尚存争议, 此外, 中国的独立董事制度还缺乏相应的责任减免机制。 独立董事制度在美国、 日本和韩国等国家的将“适用过程”修改为“实践过程”程中得到了广泛的 应用和发展, 其在实践中的经验对中国公司治理具有一定的借鉴意义。 首先, 在处理独立董事责任 边界不清时, 可充分发挥上市公司独立董事委员会的作用, 通过优化独立董事的选任程序, 确保独 立董事的“独立性”。 不仅如此, 还应将监督职责将“列位”修改为“规定为”独立董事的核心职责以明确 独立董事的职责定位。 其次, 在处理勤勉尽责认定标准不明的问题上, 应摒弃“签字即罚”的思维模 式, 通过设立差异化的薪酬和赔偿额上限来敦促独立董事勤勉尽责, 此外, 为避免独立董事自证难 的问题, 还应完善独立董事“勤勉尽责”的认定标准。 最后, 在处理独立董事责任减免机制的问题时, 除充分发挥董事责任保险的作用外, 还应通过公司章程的形式为独立董事设定事前的责任减免机 制, 并在公司内部设立独立董事补偿制度, 通过制定合适的补偿措施, 为独立董事提供履职保障。

Since its introduction in 2001, the independent director system has played an essential role in corporate governance. However, the Kangmei Pharmaceuticals case ruled that independent directors were liable for huge compensation totaling 369 million yuan within a specific range, leading to a rise in the resignation rate of independent directors. As an independent director, how do you assume responsibility in the face of false statement disputes? What kind of responsibility? What is the precise foundation and source of responsibility? In fact, the Judicial Interpretation of False Statements prior to the 2022 , because of the existence of a predicate proceeding for commencing a civil action, there have been very few cases in which independent directors have been held liable for civil liabilities, and when there have been cases, they have gone unnoticed because of the small amount of compensation for which they have been held liable.The China Securities Regulatory Commission and the State Council have successively issued The Rules for the Implementation of the System of Independent Directors of Listed Companies and the Opinions on the Reform of the System of Independent Directors of Listed Companies, which have been issued successively, are mostly aimed at safeguarding the interests of small and medium-sized investors.July 2023, the State Council introduced the Directors' Measures for the Administration of Independent Directors of Listed Companies. In December of the same year, the NPC Standing Committee passed the new Company Law,which also aims to protect the interests of small and medium investors,enhance the accountability of directors and regulators,and play a modest role in the institution of independent directors and their responsibilities. Based on an extensive survey of relevant overseas systems, independent directors play an essential role in corporate governance and can apply to proportional joint and liability. However, some challenges, such as unclear boundaries of responsibility, unclear standards of diligence and responsibility, and lack of responsibility reduction and remission mechanisms, aggravate the burden of responsibility of the five independent directors of Kangmei Pharmaceutical. In this regard, the optimization path is put forward, such as clarifying the responsibility boundary of independent directors, refining the recognition standard of diligence and responsibility, and constructing the corresponding responsibility reduction and remission mechanism. Strives to protect investor rights and interests, improve corporate governance, promote the growth of the capital market, and encourage the development of the independent director system.