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  • 學位論文

公司章程之效力與界限—以英美法制為借鏡

The Effects and Boundaries of Corporate Charters–Lessons from the British and American Legal Systems

指導教授 : 曾宛如

摘要


公司之章程乃規範公司內部組織與運作之準則,章程之條款編織了公司的外部樣貌與內部架構。本文嘗試對章程的效力以及界限進行探究。本文在研究主題方面自章程之性質出發,分別對章程之內部、外部效力以及章程制定與修改之程序上與實體上界限進行研究。在研究方法上主要則以英美法為借鏡對象,參考其法律規定、學說及實務見解,用以對照及批判我國現行法制,最後並提出檢討及建議。 本文第一章為緒論。第二章首先探討章程之性質與類型。在章程之性質方面,本文將介紹英美法上對於章程契約說之採擇,並兼及於其他學說之討論。經過分析之後,本文決定採取以契約說出發進行後續分析之立場,同時認明章程與傳統契約的差異之處。在章程之類型方面,本文亦將介紹英美法上對於章程類型所採之區分方式與規範哲學,之後回顧檢討我國法律對於章程類型與範圍之規範,指出我國章程之分類與範疇不明,應參考英美制度予以明確規定。同時,一特定文件是否應被歸類為章程應就其是否具有章程之內部效力與外部效果為斷;易言之,所謂「公司章程」其範圍不僅只於以章程為名之文件,尚應包含實質意義之章程。 本文第三章則探討章程之外部效力。章程在我國及英國皆因登記而具有公共文書之性質,英國在早期亦因章程之公示效果而賦予章程條款「擬制通知」效力以對抗第三人。然而案例法之發展逐漸傾向對交易安全之保護,最後2006年公司法section 40正式揚棄了擬制通知原則,而否定章程對代表機關權限之限制具有外部效力。反觀我國公司法第12條規定在公司成立後,有應登記之事項而未經登記者不得對抗第三人,反面解釋,經登記之事項似即具有對抗效力。本文於分析後認為如此解釋將使所有與公司交易之相對人必須查詢章程之所有規定,將課予其過高之資訊搜尋成本,對於交易安全有所妨害。因此,本文主張現代公司之章程應屬規範公司組織架構的內部規章,原則上不應因登記而具有外部之對抗效力。 在第四章本文轉而探討章程之內部效力。由於章程具有契約之本質,因此原則上章程僅得拘束契約之締約者,亦即公司與其股東,而不及於公司組織之其他參與者如董事、經理人及員工等。此亦為英國學說與實務之主流見解。然而如同本文所指出者,學界對於此種見解提出批評與修正者亦不乏其人,而在實務上亦有呼應之聲。由於在我國法上對於章程之內部效力未曾予以深入探討,本文遂援引前述英國法上之討論,嘗試對我國法上章程之內部效力進行建構。在方法論上,本文以公司法第196條有關董事報酬之規定作為例證,為董事主張章定報酬之可能性提出各種可能之請求權基礎並評述之,最後建議在現行法下應以擴張解釋委任契約之方式為之,並建議未來或可考慮透過修法,賦予股東得就章程中之所有條款享有直接請求履行之契約權利。此外,本文在討論範疇上尚兼及有關董事報酬之其他面向,最後並對現行董事報酬決定之機制提出整體性之檢討。 第五章著重研究章程制定與修改之界限與限制,在論述層面上分為程序上之限制與實體上之界限分別討論之。在程序上的限制方面,本文以介紹英國與美國法上關於章程制定與修改之程序作為開端,之後則回顧檢視我國法對於章程制定與修改程序所設之規定,並參考英美制度對我國立法提出建言,例如可參考英國公司法有關「不得任意修改條款」之規定,彈性設定章程變更之門檻等。此外,我國實務上沿習僅於股東會召集通知中載明「變更章程」等字樣之作法,對於股東之資訊權造成嚴重之妨害,有必要加以檢討,避免經營階層或控制股東藉由掌控議事程序與提案權限侵害少數股東之權利。相較之下,美國實務對於董事之操控行為發展出衡平上的限制,其規範精神值得我國加以省思。 在實體界限方面,本文亦分別研究英美法上有關章程制定內容與修改界限之規定,然而兩國所關注之規範重點並不相同。英國法在針對多數股東修改章程之權限課予衡平限制以保護少數股東的面向上,有豐富而深入的討論;至於美國法所著重探討之議題則包括「既得權」之保護、章程得排除公司法自為規定之界限(由此自然衍生出公司法強行規範與任意規範之界限),以及公司法政策選擇(例如:董事會與股東會之管理權限分派)所劃定的章程修改界限等。回觀我國,針對章程實體界限之規範並不明確,且我國實務似乎普遍有將公司法規定「強行法化」之傾向,亦即將許多本屬任意規範性質公司法條文解釋為強制或禁止規定,此種解釋與公司自治與契約自由原則顯有未符。本文遂分別由股份轉讓之限制、公司負責人之責任免除及董事會與股東會之權限分派為例,借鏡英美之制度,對我國有關章程界限之法律規範進行分析與批判,並提出引入章程修改之衡平限制之可能性,以及透過將大多數公司法規定性為任意規範之方式適度歸還章程自治空間之修法方向。至於牽涉公司法政策選擇之章程制定界限,則有賴我國立法或司法未來之發展,始能為我國所採之規範哲學與立場提供明確之指引。最後,本文引用我國實務之一則案例,作為分析印證前述論理之素材。 第六章為結論。本章除扼要提點並總結前述內容外,尚嘗試描摹出我國未來章程應有之發展及樣貌,包括可參考英國之規範模式制定模範章程等等,以大幅增加我國章程之活性,並使其更加完備、健全,真正扮演規範公司內部權利義務之憲章角色,同時不致成為交易安全之絆腳石。 本文深信有關章程效力與界限之問題不僅在學理上饒富趣味,伴隨著我國企業環境之進步發展,在商業世界中更將具有現實之重要性。故本文企盼透過前揭分析與論述,喚醒我國學界與實務對於章程效力及界限重要性之認知,開啟對此等議題深入探討之大門,以期收拋磚引玉之功,俾對我國法制之進步略效棉薄。

並列摘要


Corporate charters are norms and principles that govern the frameworks and functions of corporations. They weave the external facades and internal structures of corporations out of their provisions. This thesis attempts to conduct a thorough inquiry into the effects and boundaries of corporate charters. In respect of the research subjects, the thesis starts from the nature of charters, and extends the research scope to the external and internal effect of charters, as well as the procedural and substantial limits of adopting and amending charters. In respect of research methods, the thesis learn lessons from the legal systems of the U.K. and the U.S., making references to their statutes, regulations, academic views and cases, and compares them to the contemporary situation in Taiwan for the purpose of review and critique, and, in turn, of suggestions for revisions. The first chapter of this thesis is the preface. The second chapter firstly probes into the essence and various categories of corporate charters. With regard to the essence of charters, this thesis will introduce the theory treating charters as contracts, which is firmly adopted both in the U.K. and the U.S., involving also the discussion of other theories on the nature of charters. After thorough analysis, this thesis determines to adopt the contract theory as well, while at the same time recognizing the differences between corporate charters and conventional types of contracts. With regard to the forms of charters, the thesis will also introduce the ways of categorizing charters and the regulatory philosophy behind such categorizations in the U.K. and the U.S. repectively. After that, the thesis will review corporate laws in Taiwan, indicating that the the classification and coverage of corporate charters are obscure according to the laws. It is recommended that the categories and sphere of corporate charters in Taiwan be clearly defined by referring to the English or American legal systems. Meanwhile, whether a specific document should be categorized as a charter should be judged by whether it possesses the external and internal effect of corporate charters. In other words, the term “corporate charters”should contain not only documents that formally named as charters, but those that are substantially equipped with the characteristics of charters. Chapter 3 aims at approaching the issue of the internal effect of corporate charters. Under both the English and Taiwanese laws, charters have the characteristic of “public document”after registration. Due to the public notice effect brought up by registrations, English common law in its early stages confers the effect of “deemed notice”to registered charters, enabling corporations to claim registered charter provisions against their trading counterparts. The development of case law, however, gradually places its emphasis on the protection of economic interests and transaction security. In the end, U.K.’s 2006 Companies Act officially abolishes the “deemed notice” principle, declaring that provisions concerning limitations of the power of directors in the charter shall not bind persons dealing with the company. In contrast, article 12 of Taiwan’s Company Act explicitly prescribes that if a company, after its incorporation, fails to register any particular that should have been registered or fails to register any changes in particulars already registered, such particulars or changes in particulars cannot be set up as a defence against any third party. Speaking in the opposite, charges or particulars that are registered can set up defences against any third party. After reasoning and analysis, this thesis is of the opinion that such a regulation is equivalent to requiring any person dealing with the company to inquire every article and item of the company’s charter, thereby imposing on them an unreasonably exorbitant transaction cost on searching information. This interpretation will pose a great threat on transaction security and economic order. Therefore, this thesis argues that charters in modern corporations should be regarded as internal rules and regulations governing rights and obligations within the company. The mere fact that its charter is registered does not necessarily grants the company a defence against any third party. In Chapter 4, the thesis goes on to study on the internal effect of corporate charters. Since charters are regarded essentially as contracts, they could in principle only bind “parties” to the contract, namely the companies per se and their shareholders. The legal relationships of other participants in the playing field, such as directors, managers and employees, are simply not governed by such contracts. This is exactly the mainstream viewpoint of English scholars and justices. As the thesis points out, nevertheless, there are academic opinions that propose serious criticism and arguments against such a viewpoint, and there are cases that echo with those academic arguments. In Taiwan, since there lacks in depth studies on the internal effect of charters, the thesis attempts to contruct charters’ internal effect in Taiwan by resorting to the discussions in the U.K. In regard to research methods, the thesis raises provisions concerning directors’ remuneration in article 196 of Taiwan’s Company Act to exemplify the points it addresses. This thesis proposes various possible approaches for directors to claim for its remuneration inscribed in corporate charters and provides analysis and commentary on the legal bases of all those approaches. In the end, it is suggested that the most feasible option under current laws appears to be adopting an utterly extensive interpretation on the contract of mandate between the director and the company at issue. Furthermore, the research coverage of the thesis also extends to other relevant aspects of director’s remuneration, and eventually conducts an overall review on the current mechanism for determining director’s remuneration in this country. Chapter 5 focuses on studying on the boundaries and limits of adopting and amending corporate charters, dividing the discussion into two aspects: procedural limitations and substantial demarcations. With respect to procedural limitations, this thesis starts with introducing English and American legal regulations regarding procedures for charter adoption and revision, and in turn examines such regulations in Taiwan. Recommendations are provided by referring to legal systems in the U.K. and the U.S., including emulating the legal design of “entrenchment provisions” under U.K.’s company law in order to grant more flexibility in setting the thresholds for amending corporate charters. Moreover, the prevalent practice in Taiwan is that in convening a shareholder meeting to amend the charter of a company, it suffices to merely specify the cause and subject in words of “charter amendment” in the public notice and individual notice given to shareholders. Such a practice could seriously jeopardize the information rights of shareholders, and hence ought to be reviewed to avert a company’s management or controlling shareholders from encroaching on the rights of minority shareholders. On the contrary, American case law develops equitable restrictions on director’s manipulative actions for the protection of minority shareholders, the spirit behind such restrictions is worthy of serious reflection and contemplation. With respect to substantial demarcations, this thesis also conducts researches on regulations concerning boundaries of the contents and limits of charters in the U.K. and the U.S. The main concerns of these two countries, however, diverse considerably. Ample discussions related to imposing equitable limits on the rights of majority shareholders to amend articles of association with the aim to protecting the minority are found under British company law. The United States, on the other hand, accents on other issues such as the protection of “vested rights”, the extent to which charters could replace the default rules contained in company law provisions with contractual rules concluded by the company and its shareholders (and thus naturally the differentiation between mandatory rules and enabling rules under the company law), and the limits inflicted by the policy choices embedded in the company law (the most important of which being the division of management power between the shareholder meetings and the board of directors). As to the situation in Taiwan, substantial limits and boundaries concerning the contents and revisions of corporate charters remain obscure. In practice, moreover, it seems that judicial and administrative authorities have shown the inclination to “mandatorize” company law provisions, i.e. to interpret rules that are in nature default rules into mandatory regulations, and hence forbids companies to stipulate otherwise in their charters. Such an interpretation clearly contradicts with the principle of corporation autonomy and the principle of freedom of contract. This thesis makes reference to the British and American legal systems, taking illustrations of limits on free transfer of shares, liability exemptions of responsible persons in the company, and power division between shareholders and the boards in the company, to elucidate, analyze and criticize the norms regarding limits on corporate charters in Taiwan. In addition, the thesis proposes future directions for revising Taiwan’s company law: ranging from introducing the element of “equity” into charter amendment to returning the vast domain of self-autonomy to companies via redefining most company law provisions as enabling regulations or default rules. As to limits in relation to policy choices under Taiwan’s company law (such as the distribution of power between the shareholders and the boards), much depends on future development in both the legislative and judicial branches to offer precise and predictable guidances concerning the regulatory philosophy and standing that we should adopt. Lastly, this thesis takes the example of one case in Taiwan’s practice as the material to assay and verify the foregoing researches and arguments raised in this chapter. Chapter 6 serves as the conclusion. Aside from summarizing and summing up the prominent ideas addressed above, this chapter also attempts to indicate the objectives for future development of Taiwan’s corporate charters which the government should pursue, inclusive of learning lessons from the paradigm of U.K. to draft model articles for companies to adopt or to serve as default rules. It is believed that these proposals contributes to providing vigors for Taiwaneved that these proposals contributes to providing vigoring and enabling them to play the role as constitutions regulating rights and obligations within companies, without becoming a stumbing stone for economic order or transaction security. This thesis is deeply convinced that issues studied herein are not only extremely interesting in the academic sense, but, with the progress and development of Taiwan’s industrial environment, are practically fundamental in the modern commercial world. Hence, it is expected that by taking advantage of the foregoing analyses, researches and discussions, this thesis would be able to remind the academic circle, practitioners, and judges in Taiwan of the importance of the effects and boundaries of corporate charters, thereby opening the gate for digging deeper into these crucial issues. It is anticipated that such an initiative could achieve the purpose of contributing to the advancement and construction of Taiwan’s legal system.

參考文獻


最高法院29年上字第1409號判例。
最高行政法院94年判字第1914號判決。
陳佩慶,公司登記法制之理論與實務—國立台灣大學法律研究所碩士論文,2009年。
林國全,董事報酬請求權—評最高法院九十四年度台上字第二三五O號判決,2006年8月,月旦法學雜誌,第135期。
公司登記及認許辦法。

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