Normative Construction of the Principle of Shareholder Equality in Virtual Shareholder Meetings(PDF)
《南京师大学报》（社会科学版）[ISSN:1006-6977/CN:61-1281/TN]
- Issue:
- 2024年04期
- Page:
- 98-109
- Research Field:
- 法学研究
- Publishing date:
Info
- Title:
- Normative Construction of the Principle of Shareholder Equality in Virtual Shareholder Meetings
- Author(s):
- CHEN Jingshan
- Keywords:
- virtual shareholder meetings; shareholder equality; shareholders' right to information; electronic voting rights
- PACS:
- -
- DOI:
- -
- Abstract:
- Attending shareholder meetings is a fundamental way for shareholders to exercise their rights and govern company affairs. The original Company Law recognized the appointment of proxies or written voting as legitimate alternatives to in-person attendance at shareholder meetings, but both methods have their shortcomings. Given that electronic voting has proven effective in practice by enhancing participation and ensuring voting authenticity, the new Company Law explicitly allows companies to hold virtual shareholder meetings via electronic communication methods. This change further increases shareholder participation and overcomes the deficiencies of the traditional alternatives by confirming the legality of shareholder meeting formats that have been widely adopted in practice. However, the new Company Law and other current legal regulations do not fully address the issues of potential discrepancies in shareholders' right to information and the possibility of shareholder inequality arising from electronic shareholder meetings. Moreover, there is no specific guidance on preventing and remedying procedural flaws or system obstacles that may occur during electronic shareholder meetings. Companies implementing electronic shareholder meetings should ensure that shareholders participating through various methods can fully exercise their rights. They should also develop measures for preventing and remedying the procedural flaws and system failures in decision-making so as to fully and effectively realize the intended functions of shareholder meetings.
Last Update: 2024-08-25