公司涉外案件準據法之適用探討－以內部事務原則為中心

法人屬人法乃指附隨於法人，不論法人位於何一法域，有關法人法律地位上之事項，包括人格存在與否及其內部組織所應適用之法律，公司內部事務為屬人法主要適用範圍，而屬人法之連接因素主要有設立準據主義及住所地主義之說，前者係指公司內部事務由設立登記國規範，此為英國與美國多數州所遵行之內部事務原則。我國於99年修正後之涉外民事法律適用法第14條所規範之法人屬人法適用範圍主要為法人內部事務，此可謂係英美法上內部事務原則之體現，除將內部事務之具體內涵明文確立外，亦由原本住所地主義改為準據法主義，使公司內部事務準據法適用具一致性及可預見性。儘管內部事務原則提供法律適用之便利性及可預見性，然也造成許多公司為規避本國法律而選擇將公司註冊於法規範較寬鬆之其他國家，公司營運及活動地皆與該登記國無實質關聯，公司資金來源、業務中心或股東所在地均位於內國，如仍以設立國法律規範公司內部事務，恐生對於本國股東或債權人權益保障不周之問題。因此，本論文藉由析述美國案例法下內部事務原則之內涵及加州對偽外國公司之規範，檢視我國對於設立於境外金融中心之公司應如何為法律適用。再者，內部事項定義及範圍之釐清，為適用該內部事務原則之前提要件，在公司契約理論下，股東基於契約自由原則而對於公司事務準據法之約定應不得拘束第三人，惟公司之運作及管理難以完全不影響第三人之權益，則內外部事項應如何明確劃分？此外，當案件涉及重要公益或其他法律關係時應如何定性並進而選擇應適用之準據法，此皆為我國司法實務判決於內部事務原則之實踐上所面臨之問題。本文透過歸納、分析學說見解與我國實務對公司涉外案件之適用情形，嘗試提出自己想法，希冀對於未來我國在公司涉外案件準據法之適用探討與研究上有所助益。

關鍵字

內部事務原則；涉外民事法律適用法；法人屬人法；設立準據主義；偽外國公司；定性；外部事項

並列摘要

A personal law of corporation is a doctrine that attached to the corporation. It means that the law that regulates the corporate legal status should not change because of the corporate location. Including but not limited to decide the matters of corporate personality and internal organization. A personal law of corporation is mainly about governing the internal affairs of corporation and it uses incorporation and domicile as connecting factors mostly. lex incorporationis, the internal affairs doctrine that is applied in England and most of the states in the U.S. provides that the internal affairs of a corporation are governed by the law of the state where the corporation is chartered. Influenced by common law choice-of-law doctrine, Taiwan amended private international law, “Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements” in 2010. Article 14 accepts the concept that a personal law of corporation is mainly about governing the internal affairs of corporation and for the purpose of consistency and predictability of the applicable law of corporation internal affairs, it also changes the connecting factors of personal law of corporation from domicile theory to incorporation theory. Due to the internal affair doctrine, application of law becomes more convenient and predictable, but it also creates some issues. A lot of corporations incorporate in a foreign jurisdiction in order to minimize liability, taxes and regulatory interference even if the corporation has minimal business contact with the incorporated state and the principal place of business, source of fund and domicile of shareholders are still domestic. In this scenario, it will harm the right of the shareholders and creditors if we just apply incorporated state law and ignore domestic law. In this study, we try to examine the context of the internal affairs doctrine, which is a judge-made choice of law in U.S. We also concentrate on observing Section 2115 of the California Corporation Code which involves the regulation of pseudo-foreign corporation. After that, we will discuss the applicable law of the cases that one of the parties is an offshore company with true owner as Taiwan citizen. Clarifying the scope and coverage of internal issues is a prerequisite for application of internal affairs doctrine. Under the contractual theory of the corporation, shareholders basing on contract principle to choose the law that governing the corporation's internal affairs; therefore, it should not get the power to bind third parties. However, in some situation, the operation and governance of the corporation involve third parties’ interests essentially, and making the relationships between internal and external affairs seem ambiguous. In addition, when corporate disputes are foreign- related, and are concern with public benefits or other legal relationships at the same time, it is important to explore the subjects of characterization and choice-of-law. All of above are issues that we are facing when we discuss the practice in the application of internal affairs doctrine. This thesis attempts to provide a different approach via reviewing and analyzing the practical judgments and scholar’s views, and hopes that this will contribute to the discussion and research on the law applicable to corporation matters involving foreign elements in Taiwan.

並列關鍵字

internal affairs doctrine ； private international law ； personal law of corporation ； lex incorporationis ； pseudo-foreign corporation ； characterization ； external affairs