On Certain Opinions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Regarding the Application of the Provisions of Article 53.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation

   In summer 2025, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation approved a thematic review of the practice of applying the provisions of Article 53.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the adoption of which is rightly associated with the Concept for the Development of Civil Legislation of the Russian Federation. The focus is on approaches to assessing the good faith and reasonableness of the actions (inactions) of the head of a corporate organization. The work examines trends in legal doctrine and judicial practice of previous years concerning this category of corporate disputes. It highlights the points that judges and practicing lawyers should pay attention to when considering the issue of imposing liability on a person authorized to act on behalf of a legal entity. Changes in the approaches of the courts are demonstrated. Special attention is given to the manager’s responsibilities for organizing the corporate governance system, procedural aspects of distributing the burden of proof in court of damages, the economic impact of the manager’s transaction, which influences the determination of the amount of damages, and the principle of offsetting. New approaches to determining the affiliation (connectedness) of persons in conditions of conflict of interest are revealed. The actual approval of the transaction is examined, which includes the long-term absence of objections. The paper lists striking examples of dishonest and unreasonable behavior of the manager. The procedure for calculating the limitation periods is determined. The above considerations may be useful for improving judicial practice.

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