Reflections on the Scope of an Executive Officer’s Liability

Abstract

The liability of executive officers in business entities is multifaceted, and the issue can be examined from several perspectives. This concept can be analysed both during the company’s operation and following its removal from the company register (the horizontal dimension). Both scenarios can be further subdivided: during the company’s existence, a distinction is made between the executive officer’s liability towards the company and their liability towards third parties; following the termination of the company’s legal personality, the focus shifts to the management’s liability towards creditors and (former) members (the vertical dimension). This study focuses exclusively on the liability of the executive officer during the company’s existence; specifically, it examines issues of liability towards the company through selected court rulings and briefly outlines the concept of the discharge from liability.