国际商法7ationofcorporation

1、Unit 7 formation of corporation,?,1. In general,?,The formation of corporation is the process that the,promoters tries to meet all the requirements in order to,obtain the legal personality.,2. The conditions for the formation of corporation,There are only a few requirements for incorporation. The,co

2、nditions prescribed by different countries vary, but,usually include:,?,a. the corporation shall have qualified and adequate,promoters,?,b. the corporation shall have minimum legally required,capital,?,c. the promoters shall make the articles of corporation,?,d. the corporation shall have its own co

3、rporate name and,corporate structure,?,e. the corporation shall have its corporate domicile,3. Promoters,（发起人）,?,3.1 Definition,?,A person who takes the initiative in developing and,organizing a new business venture.,?,3.2 The activities of promoters,?,a. arrange necessary capital for the corporatio

4、n,?,b. obtain necessary assets and personnel,?,c. arrange the procedures for the formation of the,corporation,?,The certificate of incorporation and its effect,?,From the date when a companys incorporation form and,copies of its memorandum and article, certified to be true,copies b a founder member,

5、 are registered, the company is,incorporated. The regisrar will issue a certificate certifying,that the company is incorporated and, in the case of,company whose members have limited liability, that the,company is limited.,Restrictions on the choice of name,?,Normally, no company will be registered

6、by a name which,is the name as:,?,a. a name appearing in the Registrars index of company,name;,?,b. that of a body corporate established under an,ordinance,?,c. the type and case of letters, accents, spaces between,letters and punctution marks.,?,?,Case,?,2000,年初，某市一有限责任公司开张，登记为“大,洋时装有限责任公司”（甲公司），从事

7、服装生产。,2000,年底，在离甲公司,500,米处又有另一家公司开业，,从事服装销售，登记名称为“大洋服装商贸有限公司”,（乙公司）。两家公司名称类似，顾客经常混淆。为,此，甲公司向法院提起诉讼，称乙侵犯其名称权。乙,公司主张两家名称并非完全相同，行业也不同。甲公,司为服装生产加工产业，乙公司为商品零售产业，否,认自己侵权。,?,Questions,?,乙公司是否构成对甲公司名称权的侵犯？,4. Articles of association,（公司章程）,?,4.1 introduction,?,Articles of incorporation, frequently called “c

8、orporate,charter: or “certificate of incorporation,” are at the heart of,the incorporation process. They must be filed with the,company registration authority in order to provide certain,key information to the government and to any party,dealing with the corporation.,?,4.2 the memorandum of associat

9、ion,（公司大纲）,?,Another constitutional documents of a corporation in,UK and Hong Kong is memorandum of association,.,The,memorandum of association contains the name of the,corporation, the registered office, the objects of the,corporation, the liability of its members and the amount,and division of sha

10、res with which the corporation proposes,to be registered, while the articles prescribe regulations for,the internal management of the corporation. In UK and,Hong Kong, a corporation has both memorandum and,articles, while in US, these two have been combined in one,document, articles of association.,

11、?,5. Business scope of corporation (the objects,clause),?,5.1 in general,?,The corporations business scope shall be defined in its,articles of association and shall be registered according to,law.,?,5.2 the change of business scope,?,The corporation may change its business scope by,modifying its art

12、icles of association, but shall go through,the formalities for modifying the registration.,?,5.3 transactions beyond business scope,?,a. in China,?,(1) the transaction is effective if it needs no special,permission from the government,?,(2) the transaction is not effective if it needs special,permis

13、sion,?,?,b. in United States and England:,?,(1) in history, its not effective due to the principle of,Ultra Vires,(,越权无效原则）,?,Historically, an act of a corporation beyond its powers,was a nullity, as it was,ultra vires, which is Latin for,“beyond the powers”. Therefore, any act not permitted by,the

14、corporation statute or by the corporations articles of,incorporation was void due to lack of capacity.,?,?,Ashbury railway Carriage and Iron Co Ltd v. Riche,?,A corporation was incorporated with the following,objects:,?,to make, sell, or hire railway carriages and wagons;,?,to carry on the business

15、of mechanical engineers and,general contractors; and,?,to purchase, lease, work, and sell mines, minerals, land,and buildings.,?,The Directors contracted to purchase a concession to,build a railway in Belgium and to provide Riche with,finance for the construction of the railway. It was held that,the

16、 contract was,ultra vires,and void.,?,(2) nowadays, its usually effective,?,Today, the,ultra vires,doctrine is of small importance,for two reasons. First, nearly all corporations have broad,purpose clauses, thereby preventing any,ultra vires,problem. Secondly, most statutes do not permit a,corporati

17、on or the other party to an agreement to avoid an,obligation on the ground the corporation action is,ultra,vires.,?,2003,年,6,月，深圳某外贸公司向原告表示能介绍出口到俄,罗斯的业务，但要求原告必须办理,GOST,认证，同时推荐被告为,原告办理。此前原告的产品从未出口到俄罗斯，但俄罗斯广阔,的市场需求对原告极具诱惑，为了能作成这笔生意，原告和被,告就,GOST,认证一事于,2003,年,6,月,24,日签订合同，原告为委托方，,被告为认证方，认证费用为,58000,元。该合

18、同是被告提供的格,式合同，根据合同条款，作为认证方的被告应做到：,1,、严格,按照俄罗斯产品质量认证方面的法规和国际准则，审查原告的,产品质量是否符合俄罗斯检测标准；,2,、在收到原告交付的费,用后，及时组织实施有关的产品认证活动；,3,、被告在作出认,证评定结论后，应及时办理是否批准原告取得认证注册资格的,手续。合同签订后，原告向被告支付了,58000,元认证费用，可,不久后的,7,月,12,日，深圳特区报,B1,版以很大的篇幅报道了,被告进行“黑认证”并与其他外贸公司涉嫌唱“双簧”骗取钱,财被国家认鉴委等部门查处。看到这则报道后，原告十分震惊，,方知被告根本不具备认证的主体资格，其营业范围

19、没有认证业,务。知道上当后，原告急忙向法院提起诉讼，要求被告退回,58000,元的认证费用。,?,被告的营业执照上载明的经营范围是：举办实业（具体,项目另行申报）；国内商业、物资供销业（不含专营、,专控、专卖商品）；展览设计、信息咨询、企业形象策,划（不含限制项目）；进出口业务（领取经营许可证后,方可经营）。进行,GOST,认证并不在其经营范围之内，说,明被告不具有认证机构的主体资格,?,法院经审理后认为，原被告双方于,2003,年,6,月,23,日签订的合同主,要内容是被告为原告办理,GOST,认证，该合同是认证合同。根据,产品质量认证机构认可管理办法的规定，凡申请开展产品,质量认证工作的机

20、构，必须依据该办法办理手续，申请国家技,术监督局批准许可并取得产品质量机构认可证书，方可实,施产品质量认证工作。因此认证活动是特许经营的，经营者需,经过行政主管部门严格审批，取得产品质量机构认可证书,并在工商登记经营范围内注明，方可从事认证活动。而被告工,商登记的营业执照上所载明的经营范围根本没有登记认证业务，,故被告不具有认证资格，其认证活动超出经营范围，并违反了,法律法规的强制性规定，依据合同法极其司法解释的规定，双,方所签合同为无效合同，原告因履行合同而支付的认证费用,58000,元，被告应当退回给原告。,6. Preincorporation Contracts,In common l

21、aw system:,英美法系,?,3.1 Contracts executed in the name of the promoter,?,If the promoter enters into contract in his or her own,name without referring to the corporation with the thought,of subsequently assigning the contract to the corporation,personal liability on the part of the promoter clearly ex

22、ists.,The subsequent assignment of the contract to the,corporation does not release the promoter of personal,liability unless the creditor agrees, to release the promoter,and look only to the corporation for performance. The,release of a party to a contract when it is assumed by,another is called a

23、novation.,?,6.2 Contracts entered in the name of the,corporation,?,The promoter may sign a contract in the corporate name,when in fact the corporation has not yet been formed.,Many cases say that such a promoter is personally liable.,?,If the corporation is thereafter formed and adopts the,contract,

24、 the promoter may argue that the corporation,shall bear the liability of the transaction, but his,probability of success is not very good.,?,Kelner v. Baxter,?,A company was being formed to buy a hotel from K. A,written contract was made on behalf of the proposed,company by A, B and C for the purcha

25、se of wine from K.,The company was formed, the wine was delivered and,consumed but, before payment was made, the company,went into liquidation. It was held A, B and C were,personally liable on the contract.,6.3 Contracts referring to the fact the corporation,is not yet formed,?,In this case, the con

26、tract is signed by the promoter and,the third party when both are aware that the corporation,has not been formed. And if there is an express agreement,that the man who was signing was not liable, usually the,promoters are not personally liable on the contract.,?,In China:,?,6.4 If the incorporation

27、procedure fails, the promoters,bear joint liabilities on the contracts.,?,6.5 If the corporation is finally established, the,corporation bears the liabilities on the contracts.,7. Defective incorporation,瑕疵设立,?,7.1 the reasons for defective incorporation,?,a. the promoters have no civil capacity to

28、form a,corporation,?,b. the incorporation does not satisfy the requirements.,7.2 the effects of defective corporation,?,a. De facto corporation (,事实上的公司）,?,Failure to achieve the statutory requirements for,incorporation does not lead to imposition of personal,liability on the shareholders if the cou

29、rt believes that,de,facto,corporation status had been achieved.,?,The requirements for recognition of de facto status are,(1) existence of a statute under which the corporation,might have been validly incorporated, (2) a good faith,attempt at compliance, and (3) some use or exercise of,corporate sta

30、tus.,?,b. Compulsory dissolution,（强制解散）,?,If the establishment of the corporation is for some illegal,purpose and the incorporation procedure is not complete,the corporation will be compulsorily dissolved .,Example: cantor v. Sunshine Greenery Inc.,?,Plaintiffs leased one property to Sunshine Greenery, inc.,The lease was signed by the president of Sunshine, Brunetti.,Plaintiffs knew the corporation and not Brunetti was to be,liable on the contract. Sunshines articles of incorporation,were mailed to the Secretary of State on December 3. The,lease was not sig