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Trial of Civil
Damages Cases Arising from Misrepresentation in the Securities
Market Several Provisions1 3700/03.01.09
(Promulgated
by the Supreme People's Court on January 9 2003 and effective as of
February 1 2003.)
These Provisions
are formulated in accordance with such laws and regulations as the
PRC Civil Law General Principles, the PRC Securities Law, the PRC
Company Law and the PRC Civil Procedure Law and in the light of the
actual circumstances of the securities market and practical
adjudication experience in order to correctly try civil damages
cases arising from misrepresentation in the securities market,
regulate civil activities in the securities market and protect the
legitimate rights and interests of investors.
1. GENERAL
PROVISIONS
Article 1: For
the purposes of these Provisions, the term "civil damages cases
arising from misrepresentation in the securities market" (Securities
Misrepresentation Civil Damages Cases) means civil damages cases
where a securities market investor institutes proceedings with a
people's court on the grounds that a party with a disclosure
obligation violated law provisions by making misrepresentations and
thereby caused him to incur loss.
Article 2: For
the purposes of these Provisions, the term "investor" means a
natural person or a legal person or other organization engaging in
securities subscription or trading in a securities market.
For the purposes
of these Provisions, the term "securities market" means the primary
market, in which issuers offer shares to the public, the market in
which securities are traded via the quotation systems of securities
exchanges, the market in which securities companies handle share
transfers on an agency basis and other securities markets whose
establishment has been approved by the State.
Article 3: These
Provisions shall not apply to civil actions arising from the
following trading activities:
(1) share
transactions occurring outside stock exchanges whose establishment
was approved by the State; and
(2) transactions
by method of transfer by agreement occurring in stock exchanges
whose establishment was approved by the State.
Article 4: When
hearing Securities Misrepresentation Civil Damages Cases, the
people's court shall emphasize mediation and encourage conciliation
by the parties.
Article 5: The
statute of limitations for civil damages actions in respect of
representations shall be governed by Article 135 of the Civil Law
General Principles and, depending on the circumstances set forth
below, commence to run on one of the following dates:
(1) the date on
which the China Securities Regulatory Commission or its local agency
publishes its decision to punish the misrepresenting party;
(2) the date on
which the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China,
another administrative authority or an authority with the power to
impose administrative penalties publishes its decision to punish the
misrepresenting party; or
(3) the effective
date of the criminal judgment in the case of a misrepresenting party
that has not been subjected to administrative penalty, but has been
found guilty by a people's court.
Where two or more
administrative penalties are imposed on two or more misrepresenting
parties for the same misrepresentation or where both administrative
and criminal penalties are imposed, the statute of limitations for
civil damages actions shall commence to run on the date of
publication of the earliest administrative penalty decision or the
effective date of the criminal judgment.
2. ACCEPTANCE AND
JURISDICTION
Article 6:
People's courts shall accept cases where investors, on the grounds
of injury incurred by them as a result of misrepresentation,
institute civil damages proceedings against the misrepresenting
parties based on the relevant authority's administrative penalty
decision or the people's court criminal judgment, provided the cases
comply with Article 108 of the Civil Procedure Law.
Where an investor
institutes securities misrepresentation civil damages proceedings in
connection with misrepresentation, in addition to submitting the
administrative penalty decision or public notice or the written
criminal judgment of the people's court, the investor must also
submit the following evidence:
(1) documentation
proving the identity of the natural person, legal person or other
organization; if the original cannot be provided, a notarized copy
should be submitted; and
(2) evidentiary
materials showing investment losses, such as proof of transactions,
etc.
Article 7: The
defendants in Securities Misrepresentation Civil Damages Cases shall
be the misrepresenting parties, including:
(1) persons with
actual control, such as sponsors and controlling shareholders;
(2) issuers or
listed companies;
(3) securities
distributors;
(4) securities
listing sponsors;
(5) professional
intermediary service institutions, such as accounting firms, law
firms and asset appraisal organizations;
(6) the
responsible directors, supervisors and senior management personnel
such as managers, etc. of those of the units mentioned in the above
Items (2), (3) and (4) which are involved in the case, and the
directly responsible persons of the institutions mentioned in Item
(5); and
(7) other
organizations or natural persons that have made misrepresentations.
Article 8:
Securities Misrepresentation Civil Damages Cases shall be under the
jurisdiction of the intermediate people's courts of special economic
zones, cities with independent development plans and cities that are
the seat of the people's government of a province, municipality
directly under the central government, or autonomous region.
Article 9: Where
an investor institutes securities misrepresentation civil damages
proceedings against multiple defendants, jurisdiction shall be
determined according to the following principles:
(1) the competent
intermediate people's court of the place where the issuer or listed
company is located shall have jurisdiction, except in circumstances
as described in the second paragraph of Article 10 hereof;
(2) where
proceedings are instituted against misrepresenting parties other
than issuers or listed companies, the competent intermediate
people's court of the place where the defendants are located shall
have jurisdiction; or
(3) where all
defendants are natural persons, the competent intermediate people's
court of the place where the defendants are located shall have
jurisdiction.
Article 10: After
accepting proceedings instituted against a misrepresenting party
other than the issuer or a listed company, the people's court may
join the issuer or listed company as a co-defendant, either upon
application by a party or after obtaining the consent of all
plaintiffs. After effecting such joinder, the people's court shall
transfer the case to the competent intermediate people's court of
the place where the issuer or listed company is located.
If no party
applies for, or the plaintiffs do not consent to, such joinder, but
the people's court is of the opinion that the joinder is necessary,
the people's court shall notify the issuer or listed company of its
status as co-defendant in the proceedings, but may not transfer the
case.
Article 11: If
after accepting a Securities Misrepresentation Civil Damages Case, a
people's court accepts an application for reconsideration of an
administrative penalty filed, or administrative proceedings
instituted, by a party subjected to an administrative penalty who is
dissatisfied with such penalty, the people's court may decide to
suspend the trial.
If, after the
people's court has accepted the Securities Misrepresentation Civil
Damages Case, the related administrative penalty is cancelled, the
people's court shall rule to terminate the proceedings.
3. TYPES OF
ACTION
Article 12: The
plaintiffs in securities-related civil damages cases covered hereby
may choose to institute either individual or joint actions.
Article 13: If
multiple plaintiffs institute actions against the same defendant for
the same misrepresentation and there are both individual actions and
a joint action, the people's court may notify the plaintiffs of the
individual actions to participate in the joint action.
If multiple
plaintiffs simultaneously institute two or more joint actions
against the same defendant for the same misrepresentation, the
people's court may merge the proceedings actions into one joint
action.
Article 14: The
number of plaintiffs in a joint action shall be determined before
the hearing is held. If there are a large number of plaintiffs,
between two and five plaintiff representatives may be elected. Each
plaintiff representative may appoint one to two agents ad litem.
Article 15: Upon
special authorization by the plaintiffs they represent, plaintiff
representatives shall participate in the hearings, modify or
relinquish claims, and engage in mediation proceedings or reach
settlement agreements with the defendant, on behalf of the
plaintiffs.
Article 16: If
the people's court finds that a defendant must bear civil liability
for damages to a large number of plaintiffs, it may decide the total
amount of damages in the main text of the judgment and attach a list
of each plaintiff's name, amount of damages due, etc. to the end of
the written civil judgment.
4. DETERMINATION
OF MISREPRESENTATION
Article 17: The
term "securities market-related misrepresentations" means acts where
parties with a disclosure obligation violate securities laws by
recording falsehoods or making misleading statements in respect of
major matters in the course of the issue or trading of securities
that are contrary to the facts, or by making disclosures with major
omissions or making disclosures in an inappropriate manner.
Major events
shall be identified in light of Articles 59, 60, 61, 62 and 72 of
the Securities Law, and related provisions.
The term
"recording falsehoods" means the act whereby, when disclosing
information, a party with a disclosure obligation records
non-existent facts in the disclosure document.
The term
"misleading statements" means statements made by a misrepresenting
party in a disclosure document or through the media that cause
investors to misjudge their investments and that have a major
impact.
The term "major
omissions" means information that a party with a disclosure
obligation is required to record in a disclosure document but that
such party completely or partially fails to record therein.
The phrase
"making disclosures in an inappropriate manner" means the failure by
a party with a disclosure obligation to publicly disclose within the
appropriate time limit, or in the statutory manner, information that
such party is required to disclose.
Article 18: The
people's court shall determine that a causal relationship exists
between a misrepresentation and the injurious result if:
(1) the
securities in which the investor invested were directly connected to
the misrepresentation;
(2) the investor
purchased the securities on or after the date on which the
misrepresentation was made and before the date on which the same was
exposed or corrected; or
(3) on or after
the date on which the misrepresentation was exposed or corrected,
the investor incurred a loss as a result of the sale of the
securities or is incurring loss as a result of his continuing to
hold the securities.
Article 19: The
people's court shall determine that no causal relationship exists
between the misrepresentation and the injurious result, if the
defendant produces evidence proving that:
(1) the
plaintiff sold the securities before the date on which the
misrepresentation was exposed or corrected;
(2) the plaintiff
made the investment after the date on which the misrepresentation
was exposed or corrected;
(3) the plaintiff
made the investment with clear knowledge of the misrepresentation;
(4) the loss or
part of the loss incurred by the plaintiff was due to the risk of
the securities market system or other such factors; or
(5) the plaintiff
made the investment in bad faith for purposes of manipulating the
price of the security.
Article 20: For
the purposes of these Provisions, the term "the date on which the
misrepresentation was made" means the date on which the
misrepresentation was made or occurred.
The term "the
date on which the misrepresentation was exposed" means the date on
which the misrepresentation was first publicly exposed by a national
newspaper, periodical, radio station, television station or other
such medium.
The term "the
date on which the misrepresentation was corrected" means the date on
which the misrepresenting party voluntarily announces a correction
of the misrepresentation in a medium designated by the China
Securities Regulatory Commission for the disclosure of securities
market-related information and carried out the procedures to suspend
trading of the securities in accordance with provisions.
5. FIXATION OF
LIABILITY AND CAUSES FOR RELEASE
Article 21:
Sponsors, issuers or listed companies shall bear civil liability for
damages in respect of the loss incurred by investors as a result of
the misrepresentations made by the former.
The responsible
directors, supervisors and senior management personnel such as
managers, etc. of the issuers and listed companies shall bear joint
and several liability for the losses mentioned in the preceding
paragraph. However, they shall be exempted if evidence proves them
to be free of fault.
Article 22: If a
person with actual control manipulates the issuer or listed company
so as to cause it to violate the provisions of securities laws by
making misrepresentations in the name of the issuer or listed
company and causing investors to incur loss, the liability for
damages may be borne by the issuer or the listed company. After the
issuer or listed company has borne the liability for damages, it may
seek compensation from the person with actual control.
If a person with
actual control makes misrepresentations in violation of Article 4, 5
or 188 of the Securities Law, the liability for damages shall be
borne by the person with actual control.
Article 23:
Securities distributors and securities listing sponsors shall be
liable for damages in respect of the loss caused to investors due to
misrepresentation. However, they shall be released from such
liability if evidence proves them to be free of fault.
The responsible
directors, supervisors and senior management personnel such as
managers, etc. shall jointly and severally bear the liability for
damages that is borne by the securities distributors. The cause for
release from liability set forth in the preceding paragraph shall
likewise apply to their liability.
Article 24: If
professional intermediary service institutions and the persons
directly responsible therefor make misrepresentations in violation
of Article 161 or 202 of the Securities Law and thereby cause
investors to incur loss, they shall be liable for damages in respect
of the portion for which they are responsible. However, they shall
be released from such liability if evidence proves them to be free
of fault.
Article 25: Other
organizations and natural persons that have made misrepresentations,
as referred to in Item (7) of Article 7 hereof, in violation of
Article 5, 72, 188 or 189 of the Securities Law, thereby causing
investors to incur loss, shall be liable for damages.
6. JOINT TORT
LIABILITY
Article 26: If
the sponsors provide a guarantee for the disclosure by the issuer,
the sponsors and the issuer shall bear joint and several liability
for the loss incurred by the investors.
Article 27: If
securities distributors, securities listing sponsors or professional
intermediary service institutions know or ought to know of the
issuer's or listed company's misrepresentation but fail to make
rectification or to issue a qualified opinion, such failure shall
constitute a joint tort and such distributors, sponsors or
institutions shall bear joint and several liability for the loss
incurred by the investors.
Article 28: If
responsible directors, supervisors or senior management personnel
such as managers, etc. of an issuer, listed company, distributor or
securities listing sponsor are characterized by any of the following
circumstances, they shall be determined to have carried out joint
misrepresentation and shall bear joint and several liability with
the issuer, listed company, distributor or securities listing
sponsor for the loss incurred by the investors:
(1) they
participated in the misrepresentation;
(2) they knew of
or ought to have known of the misrepresentation and failed to
clearly express objection thereto; or
(3) other
circumstances for which they are required to assume responsibility
7. DETERMINATION
OF LOSS
Article 29: If a
misrepresentation made on the primary securities market causes loss
to investors, the investors have the right to demand that the
misrepresenting party pay damages in accordance with Article 30
hereof; if the misrepresentation causes the suspension of the
issuance of said securities, the investors shall have the right to
demand that the misrepresenting party refund the subscription monies
plus compensation in the form of interest at the bank interest rate
for current deposits over the same period.
Article 30: The
scope of the liability for civil damages to be borne by the
misrepresenting party on the securities trading market shall be
limited to the loss actually incurred by the investors as a result
of the misrepresentation. The actual loss incurred by investors
includes:
(1) investment
differential loss; and
(2) the
commission and stamp tax for the investment differential.
The interest on
the funds involved in the preceding paragraph shall be calculated at
the bank interest rate for current deposits over the same period as
that from the date of purchase to the date of sale of the securities
or the reference date.
Article 31: If
the investor sells the securities on or before the reference date,
his investment differential loss shall be calculated based on the
difference between the average purchase price of the securities and
the average price the securities were actually sold at, multiplied
by the quantity of the securities held by the investor.
Article 32: If
the investor sells or retains the securities after the reference
date, his investment differential loss shall be calculated based on
the difference between the average purchase price of the securities
and the average of the closing prices on each trading day during the
period from the date on which the misrepresentation was exposed or
corrected to the reference date, multiplied by the quantity of the
securities held by the investor.
Article 33: The
reference date for the calculation of investment differential loss
is a cut-off date that occurs after the exposure or correction of
the misrepresentation and that is stipulated in order to determine a
reasonable time period for the calculation of the loss by limiting
the damages due to the investors to the loss incurred as a result of
the misrepresentation. The reference date shall be determined in
accordance with the following circumstances:
(1) the date on
which the cumulative trading volume of the securities influenced by
the misrepresentation reaches 100% of the potential circulation of
the securities as calculated from the date of exposure or
correction; however, the trading volume of securities transferred by
means of block-trade agreements shall not be included in the
calculation;
(2) if
determination based on the preceding rule is impossible prior to the
court hearing, then the reference date shall be 30 trading days
after the date of exposure or correction;
(3) if the
securities have been already withdrawn from the market, the
reference date shall be one trading day prior to the date on which
the securities were delisted; or
(4) if trading in
the securities has already been suspended, the reference date may be
one trading day prior to the date of suspension; if trading in the
securities has resumed, the reference date may be determined based
on Item (1) of this article.
Article 34: The
gains obtained by the investor based on his shareholder status may
not be set off against the amount of damages owed by the
misrepresenting party. Such gains include profit shares, bonus
shares, shares obtained from share increases effected by means of
conversion of funds in the provident fund, and the following shares
purchased with the investor's own funds during the period in which
the shares were held by the investor: shares that are the subject of
rights issues, newly issued shares and those shares in a listed
company's rights issue in respect of which the holders of
State-owned or legal person shares have assigned their rights to
other legal persons or members of the public.
Article 35: When
calculating the investment differential loss, the price and quantity
of securities that are trading ex-rights shall be calculated as if
the rights had been restored.
8. SUPPLEMENTARY
PROVISIONS
Article 36: These
Provisions shall be implemented as of February 1 2003.
Article 37: In
the event of any inconsistencies between the Questions Concerning
the Acceptance of Civil Tort Dispute Cases Arising from
Misrepresentation in the Securities Market Circular issued by this
Court on January 15 2002 and these Provisions, these Provisions
shall prevail.
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