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committees, more than a bare outline of the problems and subjects
involved, so that little more is recorded in the minutes of the meetings than
the results of negotiations. It must, however, be borne in mind that the highly
specialized fields of research of individual Vorstand members were to a very
large extent completely unknown to the others, so that they were quite
incapable of forming an independent opinion thereon. The fact that a Vorstand
member was informed, either in a Vorstand meeting or through minutes of
meetings, of certain actions and occurrences in other departments is not
therefore proof of his coresponsibility for such actions and occurrences. Such
liability and responsibility is out of the question, unless it was inevitable
that the Vorstand member, owing to his professional qualifications and the
knowledge required in his own sphere of work, should grow suspicious, but kept
silence in spite of such suspicion.
On the other
hand, the members of the Vorstand of the I.G. Farbenindustrie were businessmen
and specialists who had built up for themselves an excellent reputation in the
course of many years, every one of whom could legitimately claim to be an
authority in his subject, and who was deserving of confidence, especially if he
had successfully conducted for a long time the business affairs of the firm.
Thus, the further removed from the sphere of activity of the responsible
business manager he is, the less can a member of the Vorstand be held
responsible. The question of a person's responsibility should therefore be
investigated separately for each Vorstand member to determine how great
is the share of responsibility which should devolve upon him from the point of
view of the fulfillment of the duty laid upon a good and conscientious business
manager. It would be a mistake to impose upon individual Vorstand members a
degree of responsibility for the management of business affairs by other
Vorstand members in their spheres of work beyond the limits defined above.
4. Responsibility for decisions taken by the Vorstand as a whole should
be assessed accordingly.
a. If the Vorstand as a whole approves
an administrative measure advocated by an individual Vorstand member for his
sphere of work, that Vorstand member is not relieved of his share of the
responsibility. If the measure turns out to have been a mistake, the Vorstand
member will be held responsible if, by making the proposal, he has offended
against the "diligence of a good and conscientious business manager."
b. The share of responsibility of the other members of the
Vorstand, who have voted in favor of the motion, will also be determined
according to the extent to which they have offended against that "diligence."
The general remarks made under 3 |
412 |
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