Shareholders' rights

Various rights that shareholders have based on their status as employees. Various shareholder rights are stipulated in the Companies Act. These are classified as follows according to their content and holding requirements.

(1) Contents According to their contents, shareholder rights are classified into self-interest rights and common interest rights. Self-interest rights are rights aimed at receiving economic benefits from the company, such as the right to claim dividends on surplus (Article 105, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Companies Act), the right to claim distribution of residual assets (Article 105, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Companies Act), and the right to claim purchase of shares (Articles 116 to 119 of the Companies Act). Common interest rights are rights aimed at participating in the management and operation of the company, such as the right to vote at the general shareholders' meeting (Article 105, Paragraph 1, Item 3 of the Companies Act), the right to sue for the cancellation of resolutions of the general shareholders' meeting (Article 831, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act), the right to sue for the invalidity of acts related to the company's organization (Article 828 of the Companies Act), and the right to seek an injunction against illegal acts by directors (Article 360 ​​of the Companies Act). The reason for classifying the two types of rights is that self-interest rights only benefit the right holder by exercising them, but common interest rights affect the interests of other shareholders by exercising them, so a certain degree of restriction must be recognized.

(2) Requirements for Exercise Shareholder rights are classified into sole shareholder rights and minority shareholder rights according to the requirements for exercising them. Sole shareholder rights are rights that can be exercised by a shareholder with only one share, and include all of the shareholder's own interests and some of the common interests, such as voting rights. Minority shareholder rights are rights that require a certain percentage of the total voting rights of shareholders or a certain number of shares to be held, and include the right to propose (Articles 303 and 305 of the Companies Act), the right to convene a general meeting of shareholders (Article 297 of the Companies Act), the right to request the dismissal of directors, etc. (Articles 854 and 479 of the Companies Act), and the right to inspect the books (Article 433 of the Companies Act). The reason for classifying the two is that minority shareholder rights are strong rights that are at high risk of being abused, and their exercise is limited to shareholders with large investment amounts. Note that under the Companies Act, some of the above shareholder rights can be exempted by designing each class of stock, but provisions in the articles of incorporation that prohibit all rights to claim dividends on surplus and rights to claim distribution of residual assets are invalid (Article 105, Paragraph 2 of the Companies Act).

[Shuzo Toda and Norihiko Fukuhara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

株主が社員たる資格に基づいて有する各種の権利。会社法ではさまざまな株主権が規定されている。これは内容、保有要件によって以下のように分類される。

(1)内容　株主権はその内容によると、自益権と共益権とに分類される。自益権とは、会社から経済的利益を受けることを目的とする権利をいい、剰余金配当請求権（会社法105条1項1号）、残余財産分配請求権（同法105条1項2号）、株式買取請求権（同法116条～119条）などがある。共益権とは、会社の管理運営に参加することを目的とする権利をいい、株主総会における議決権（同法105条1項3号）、株主総会決議取消訴権（同法831条1項）、会社組織に関する行為の無効訴権（同法828条）、取締役の違法行為の差止請求権（同法360条）などがある。そもそも両者を分類する理由は、自益権はその行使によって権利者のみが利益を得るだけであるが、共益権は権利を行使することによって他の株主の利益にも影響を与えるために、ある程度の制約を認める必要があるからである。

(2)行使要件　株主権はその行使要件によると、単独株主権と少数株主権とに分類される。単独株主権とは、1株の株主でも行使できる権利であり、自益権のすべて、議決権など一部の共益権がこれに該当する。少数株主権とは、総株主の議決権の一定割合または一定数以上の株式保有を行使要件とする権利であり、提案権（会社法303条、305条）、株主総会招集権（同法297条）、取締役等の解任請求権（同法854条、479条）、帳簿閲覧権（同法433条）などがある。そもそも、両者を分類する理由は、権利が強力で濫用の危険が大きいものを少数株主権とし、出資額の多い株主のみに行使を限定することにある。なお会社法では、各種類株式を設計することによって、前記の株主権の一部を与えないものとすることができるが、剰余金配当請求権および残余財産分配請求権の全部を与えない旨の定款の定めは無効である（同法105条2項）。

［戸田修三・福原紀彦］

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