VIRTUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
Keywords:
corporation, shareholder meeting, hybrid meeting, virtual meeting, right to participate in the meeting, right to vote, electronic voting
Abstract
Traditionally, general meetings have been held as physical meetings. Over the last two decades, legislators have often allowed hybrid meetings, giving shareholders the right to participate both electronically and in person. Since the end of the recent pandemic, we have seen further liberalisation, which means that an increasing number of countries also allow virtual meetings of shareholders. At present, Serbia does not recognise and allow virtual meetings, but it is recommended that this type of meeting should be legally regulated. The purpose of this paper is to define the exact meaning of virtual meetings, to highlight their advantages and disadvantages, to present some selected comparative laws regulating this type of meetings, as well as to analyse some problematic aspects that need to be regulated. The aim of this paper is to give recommendations to the Serbian legislator on the proper way to allow virtual meetings, taking into account all potential problems associated with these meetings.
References
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Вук Радовић, „Услови за вршење права акционара на постављање питања“, Анали Правног факултета Универзитета у Београду 1/2014
Вук Радовић, „Последице вршења права акционара на постављање питања“, Правни живот 11/2014
Вук Радовић, „Гласање акционара преко пуномоћника у комунитарном праву“, Европско законодавство 33-34/2010
Вук Радовић, „Информисање акционара пре седнице скупштине акционарског друштва“, Правни живот 11/2010
Wanne M. Pemmelaar, „Towards a Virtual General Meeting: ‘I accept’ or ‘I decline’?“, Utrecht Law Review 4(3)/2008
Anatoli van der Krans, „The Virtual Shareholders Meeting: How to make it work?“, Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology 2(1)/2007
Bernard S. Black, „Shareholder Passivity Reexamined“, Michigan Law Review 89/1990
Bernd Beuthel, Electronic Corporate Governance: Online and Virtual Shareholder Meetings and Shareholder Participation in Switzerland and Germany, докторска дисертација, 2006, https://www1.unisg.ch/www/edis.nsf/SysLkpByIdentifier/3195/$FILE/dis3195.pdf (25.4.2019)
Christian Kersting, „Das Auskunftsrecht des Aktionärs bei elektronischer Teilnahme an der Hauptversammlung (§§ 118, 131 AktG)“, Neue Zeitschrift für Gesellschaftsrecht 2010
Danielle Keats Citron, „Cyber Civil Rights“, Boston University Law Review 89/2009
David Martin Will Mastrianna, „Virtual Shareholder Meetings: Beyond the Pandemic“, Insights 36(2)/2022
Dirk A. Zetzsche, Linn Anker-Sørensen, Roberta Consiglio, Miko Yeboah-Smith, „The COVID-19-Crisis and Company Law – Towards Virtual Shareholder Meetings“, June 15, 2020, University of Luxembourg Faculty of Law, Economics & Finance WPS 2020-007, https://ssrn.com/abstract=3576707 (21.2.2-24)
Dirk Zetzsche, „Virtual Shareholders Meetings and the European Shareholder Rights Directive – Challenges and Opportunities”, 2007, http://ssrn.com/abstract=998429 (5.2.2024)
Dirk Zetzsche, „Corporate Governance in Cyberspace – a Blueprint for Virtual Shareholder Meetings“ June 19, 2005, https://ssrn.com/abstract=747347 (5.2.2024)
Douglas K. Chia, Ann S. Lee, Report on Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/01/11/report-on-practices-for-virtual-shareholder-meetings/ (10.2.2024)
Elizabeth Boros, „Virtual Shareholders Meetings”, Duke Law and Technology Review, бр. 8/2004
Elizabeth Boros, „Corporate Governance in Cyberspace: Who Stands to Gain What From the Virtual Meeting“, Journal of Corporate Law Studies 3(1)/2003
Frank H. Easterbrook, Daniel R. Fischel, „Voting in Corporate Law“, Journal of Law and Economics 26/1983
George Ponds Kobler, „Shareholder Voting Over the Internet: A Proposal for Increasing Shareholder Participation in Corporate Governance“, Alabama Law Review 49/1998
Jessica Schmidt, „Die geplante Richtlinie über Aktionärsrechte und ihre Bedeutung für das deutsche Recht“, Betriebs-Berater 31/2006
Klaus J. Hopt, „Corporate Governance and the Shareholders: The German Law on Virtual General Meetings 2022“, https://ssrn.com/abstract=4240280 (8.2.2024)
Klaus J. Hopt, „Company Law and the Corporate Governance Effects of the Pandemic – The New German Law on Virtual General Meetings of Stock Corporations and the Effect of the Pandemic on the Board“, Orizzonti del Diritto Commerciale: Rivista on Line Dell'Associazione Italiana dei Professori Universitari di Diritto Commerciale, Vol. 2022, Issue 2 (2022)
Lisa M. Fairfax, „Virtual Shareholder Meetings Reconsidered“, Seton Hall Law Review 40/2010
Mark Fenwick, Joseph A. McCahery, Erik P. M. Vermeulen, „The End of ‘Corporate’ Governance: Hello ‘Platform’ Governance“, European Business Organization Law Review 20/2019
Masaki Iwasaki, „Are In-Person Shareholder Meetings Outdated? The Value of Implicit Communication“, November 26, 2020, Asian Journal of Law and Economics 11(3)/2020, https://ssrn.com/abstract=3734803 (21.2.2024)
Maurice Cozian, Alain Viandier, Florence Deboissy, Droit des sociétés, 16e édition, Paris 2003
Небојша Јовановић, Вук Радовић, Мирјана Радовић, Компанијско право – право привредних субјеката, 3. издање, Универзитет у Београду – Правни факултет, Београд 2023
Pablo Iglesias Rodriguez, „Electronic Voting by Shareholders in Spain“, European Company Law 6(1)/2009
Stefan Grundmann, European Company Law – Organization, Finance and Capital Markets, Intersentia 2007
Вук Радовић, „Услови за вршење права акционара на постављање питања“, Анали Правног факултета Универзитета у Београду 1/2014
Вук Радовић, „Последице вршења права акционара на постављање питања“, Правни живот 11/2014
Вук Радовић, „Гласање акционара преко пуномоћника у комунитарном праву“, Европско законодавство 33-34/2010
Вук Радовић, „Информисање акционара пре седнице скупштине акционарског друштва“, Правни живот 11/2010
Wanne M. Pemmelaar, „Towards a Virtual General Meeting: ‘I accept’ or ‘I decline’?“, Utrecht Law Review 4(3)/2008
Published
2024/12/14
Section
Original Scientific Paper