分层董事会条款（Staggered Board Provision），亦称分期分级董事会制度，是常见的反恶意收购条款（又称“驱鲨剂”条款，指公司为防御其他公司的敌意收购而采取的一些正式的反接管手段。董事会可以预先召开股东大会，在公司章程中设立一些条款，增加收购者获得公司控制权的难度。这类条款被称为“驱鲨剂”条款。）之一。

其典型做法是在公司章程中规定，董事会分成若干组，规定每一组有不同的任期，以使每年都有一组的董事任期届满，每年也只有任期届满的董事被改选。为了保证分期分级董事会条款的实施，公司章程往往还同时规定董事在任职期间不得被无故解任，并可以就董事的解职问题设置绝对多数条款，规定必须一定比例（如1/3或过半数）股东出席股东大会且取得出席会议的绝对多数（具体比例，如3/4）股东同意才能决定解除董事的职务。

该条款的英文释义如下：

A staggered board of directors is a system that typically aims to prevent hostile takeovers. In a staggered board approach, a company only opens up a portion of their director positions to election at any one time. Staggered boards typically consist of “classes” of positions, each holding elections in different years.

该条款可以有效地防止收购方持股占优势时对董事会的“大换血”行动，保持对公司的控制权。在我国，根据《公司法》第109条之规定，股份有限公司董事会成员为5—19人，董事任期由公司章程规定，但每届任期不得超过3年；董事任期届满，连选可以连任。该规定表明董事任期在3年期限内具体由公司章程规定，且公司法并未要求所有董事的任期相同。依此，在公司章程中规定每一位董事的任期不同，并不违反公司法的规定。由此，公司可以实行分期分级董事会制度，以此为反收购措施。

以下为相关双语条款示例，供参考：

示例一：

Staggered Board. The Board (other than those directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock provided for or fixed pursuant to Article 4 (the “Preferred Stock Directors”)) shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal in number as possible, designated Class I, Class II and Class III. Class I directors shall initially serve until the first annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of this Article; Class II directors shall initially serve until the second annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of this Article; and Class III directors shall initially serve until the third annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of this Article. Commencing with the first annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of this Article, directors of each class the term of which shall then expire shall be elected to hold office for a three-year term and until the election and qualification of their respective successors in office. In case of any increase or decrease, from time to time, in the number of directors (other than Preferred Stock Directors), the number of directors in each class shall be apportioned as nearly equal as possible.

分层董事会。董事会（由任何系列的优先股（由第4条规定或确定）股东推选出的董事（“优先股董事”））应分为三类董事，分别指定为一类、二类和三类，各类董事人数应尽可能的相同。一类董事初期应任职至本条生效后的第一次年度股东大会；二类董事初期应任职至本条生效后的第二次年度股东大会；三类董事初期应任职至本条生效后的第三次年度股东大会。自本条生效后的第一次年度股东大会起，任期届时届满的每一类别董事可继续被推选担任董事，任期为三年，直至其各自继任者被推选出来且确定任职资格。董事（优先股董事除外）人数不时增加或减少的，每一类别董事的人数应尽可能地平均分配。

示例二：

Staggered Board. The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company shall provide that the Company shall have a classified Board, with three classes of directors. While the size of the Board is nine (9) members, three Directors shall be in Class I, three Directors in Class II and three Directors in Class III. One-third of the Board will be elected each year. The term of office of the Class I Directors will expire at the Company’s first annual meeting of shareholders following the Closing Date. The term of office of the Class II Directors will expire at the Company’s second annual meeting of shareholders following the Closing Date. The term of office of the Class III Directors will expire at the Company’s third annual meeting of shareholders following the Closing Date.

分层董事会。公司的组织章程大纲和章程细则应规定公司应拥有三级分层董事会。董事会应由九（9）名成员组成，一类董事、二类董事、三类董事各三名。每年将会选举董事会的三分之一董事。一类董事的任期将于交割日后公司的第一次年度股东大会届满。二类董事的任期将于交割日后公司的第二次年度股东大会届满。三类董事的任期将于交割日后公司的第三次年度股东大会届满。