The Exercise of the Voting Right in a Join-Stock Company Abstract The submitted thesis analyses the voting right of a shareholder and the exercise of the voting right in a joint-stock company. In the last few years, a tendency to encourage the engagement of shareholders and to broaden the scope of decision rights of shareholders can be seen. Nevertheless, some authors underestimate the importance of the shareholders' right to vote and conclude that real decision-making power lies with the management or administrative board. The main hypothesis to be proven or rebutted is that the shareholder's voting right is not insignificant and vesting decision-making power in shareholders can have a positive influence on the effectiveness of the management of the company notwithstanding the broad liberty of the shareholder to both freely exercise and dispose of the voting right (the shares) and notwithstanding the existence of deviations from the principle of proportionality. The thesis aims to examine the voting right in its complexity, in contrast to the prevailing approach of contemporary Czech jurisprudence, and to contribute to academic knowledge with original arguments and conclusions. This goal is achieved by extensive use of foreign legal sources, mainly French and Belgian literature and case law, since the...

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / In South Africa the transfer and settlement processes associated with share transactions are essentially paper-based. The physical handling of the share certificate plays an important role in this regard. Foreign trends to reduce the movement of paper involve in broad terms the alternatives of dematerialisation and immobilisation of the share certificate. These developments cannot slavishly be followed without examining the legal nature of the South African share and share certificate. The process of immobilisation in a collective securities depository system involves no change in the nature of the shares. However, the use of a nominee where shares are held in safe custody forms a barrier between the shareholder and the issuer company which could dilute the shareholders' rights. This is even more applicable where shares are immobilised in a central depository. Further, although central depositories are based upon book-entries, they are still limited by the retention of the physical certificates. The development of electronic systems which dematerialise the share certificate must take into account the reasonable expectations of the public and should not be forced upon investors. The shareholder of a 'uncertificated' share must be placed, as far as possible, in the same position as if he had received a certificate. This requires legislation to amend present enactments and to define the rights of the shareholder. It is submitted that dematerialisation should gradually be phased in, starting with a voluntary dematerialisation in the case of holdings in the central securities depository. / In Suid-Afrika is die oordrag- en verrekeningsprosesse wat gepaardgaan met aandeletransaksies hoofsaaklik papiergebaseer. Die fisiese bantering van die aandelesertifikaat speel in die opsig 'n belangrike rol. Buitelandse pogings om die beweging van papier te verminder, neig in die algemene rigting van die dematerialisasie en immobilisasie van die aandelesertifikaat. Hierdie ontwikkelings kan nie slaafs nagevolg word sonder om die regsaard van die Suid-Afrikaanse aandeel en aandelesertifikaat te ondersoek nie. Die proses van immobilisasie in 'n kollektiewe bewaarnemerstelsel vir effekte wysig nie die aard van aandele nie. Nietemin plaas die gebruik van genomineerdes waar aandele in veilige bewaring gehou word 'n wig tussen die aandeelhouer en die uitreikermaatskappy wat die aandeelhouersregte kan verwater. Dit is selfs meer toepaslik waar aandele in 'n sentrale depot ge'lmmobiliseer word. Verder is dit so dat alhoewel sentrale depots op boekinskrywings gebaseer word, hul steeds beperk word deur die behoud van die fisiese sertifikate. Die ontwikkeling van elektroniese stelsels wat die aandelesertifikaat dematerialiseer moet rekening hou met die redelike verwagtinge van die publiek en behoort nie op beleggers afgedwing te word nie. Die aandeelhouer van 'n 'ongesertifiseerde' aandeel moet, so ver moontlik, in dieselfde posisie geplaas word asof hy 'n sertifikaat ontvang bet. Wetgewing is noodsaaklik om bestaande bepalings te wysig en die regte van die aandeelhouer te omskryf. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat dematerialisasie stelselmatig infaseer word - aanvanklik met 'n vrywillige dematerialisasie in die geval waar aandeelhouding in sentrale bewaameming is. / Private Law / LL.D.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / In South Africa the transfer and settlement processes associated with share transactions are essentially paper-based. The physical handling of the share certificate plays an important role in this regard. Foreign trends to reduce the movement of paper involve in broad terms the alternatives of dematerialisation and immobilisation of the share certificate. These developments cannot slavishly be followed without examining the legal nature of the South African share and share certificate. The process of immobilisation in a collective securities depository system involves no change in the nature of the shares. However, the use of a nominee where shares are held in safe custody forms a barrier between the shareholder and the issuer company which could dilute the shareholders' rights. This is even more applicable where shares are immobilised in a central depository. Further, although central depositories are based upon book-entries, they are still limited by the retention of the physical certificates. The development of electronic systems which dematerialise the share certificate must take into account the reasonable expectations of the public and should not be forced upon investors. The shareholder of a 'uncertificated' share must be placed, as far as possible, in the same position as if he had received a certificate. This requires legislation to amend present enactments and to define the rights of the shareholder. It is submitted that dematerialisation should gradually be phased in, starting with a voluntary dematerialisation in the case of holdings in the central securities depository. / In Suid-Afrika is die oordrag- en verrekeningsprosesse wat gepaardgaan met aandeletransaksies hoofsaaklik papiergebaseer. Die fisiese bantering van die aandelesertifikaat speel in die opsig 'n belangrike rol. Buitelandse pogings om die beweging van papier te verminder, neig in die algemene rigting van die dematerialisasie en immobilisasie van die aandelesertifikaat. Hierdie ontwikkelings kan nie slaafs nagevolg word sonder om die regsaard van die Suid-Afrikaanse aandeel en aandelesertifikaat te ondersoek nie. Die proses van immobilisasie in 'n kollektiewe bewaarnemerstelsel vir effekte wysig nie die aard van aandele nie. Nietemin plaas die gebruik van genomineerdes waar aandele in veilige bewaring gehou word 'n wig tussen die aandeelhouer en die uitreikermaatskappy wat die aandeelhouersregte kan verwater. Dit is selfs meer toepaslik waar aandele in 'n sentrale depot ge'lmmobiliseer word. Verder is dit so dat alhoewel sentrale depots op boekinskrywings gebaseer word, hul steeds beperk word deur die behoud van die fisiese sertifikate. Die ontwikkeling van elektroniese stelsels wat die aandelesertifikaat dematerialiseer moet rekening hou met die redelike verwagtinge van die publiek en behoort nie op beleggers afgedwing te word nie. Die aandeelhouer van 'n 'ongesertifiseerde' aandeel moet, so ver moontlik, in dieselfde posisie geplaas word asof hy 'n sertifikaat ontvang bet. Wetgewing is noodsaaklik om bestaande bepalings te wysig en die regte van die aandeelhouer te omskryf. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat dematerialisasie stelselmatig infaseer word - aanvanklik met 'n vrywillige dematerialisasie in die geval waar aandeelhouding in sentrale bewaameming is. / Private Law / LL.D.

Il lavoro ha affrontato la tematica riguardante la disciplina del trasferimento delle azioni. In particolare, l'attenzione si è concentrata sulla formalità dell'iscrizione nel libro soci. A tale riguardo, si è posto il problema di comprendere se essa costituisca ancora il mezzo necessario per il conseguimento dello status socii. Con riferimento alle s.p.a. che emettono titoli, si è ravvisato nel possesso qualificato del titolo l'unico indice di legittimazione necessario e sufficiente in caso di trasferimento a mezzo girata, riconoscendo all'iscrizione nel libro soci la funzione di elemento necessario (ma comunque insufficiente, se isolatamente considerato) all'acquisto della legittimazione in caso di trasferimento dell'azione per atto separato e di circolazione mortis causa. Si è, comunque, escluso che le novità introdotte abbiano surrettiziamente trasformato le azioni in titoli all'ordine. In assenza di titoli, si è evidenziato che l'iscrizione ha sempre funzione legittimante come accade in caso di trasferimento di quote di s.r.l. In presenza di azioni dematerializzate, si è sottolineato che l'iscrizione nel libro soci perde ogni funzione legittimante, posto che l'avente causa acquista lo status di socio tramite registrazione sul conto tenuto dall'intermediario. Si è giunti alla conclusione che, al di là della funzione cartolare, a-cartolare o scritturale, l'annotazione nel libro soci rappresenta, esaltando il suo ruolo organizzativo, l'unico strumento che l'emittente ha a disposizione per riconoscere i propri soci ed avere contezza dei suoi assetti proprietari e delle vicende relative alle partecipazioni dallo stesse emesse. / The work concerned the issue about the circulation of shares. In particular, the attention is concentrated around the registration on shareholders' book. In this respect, the difficulty lied in understanding if the registration is still the instrument for the achievement of status socii. About the corporations which issue paper securities, the only instrument (necessary and sufficient) for the ability to exercise the shareholders' rights if the share is transferred by endorsement is the security's qualified possession. The registration on shareholders' book is the necessary, but not sufficient, instrument for the ability to exercise the shareholders' rights if the share is transferred by separate contract and if the share is transferred mortis causa. Anyway, the recent reform confirmed that the shares are registered securities. About the corporations which don't issue paper securities, the registration is always the instrument for the ability to exercise the shareholders' rights, like it happens in case of circulation of unlimited liability company's stakes. About the corporations which issue dematerialized securities (in particular, listed companies), the registration isn't the instrument for the ability to exercise the shareholders' rights, because the buyer achieves status socii by the registration on intermediary's account. In short, the registration on shareholders' book is the only instrument which the legal system puts at corporation's disposal to know its shareholders and the events about its shares.