| Joint ownership of shares in a broad sense means that two or more legal subjects own the interests of shares jointly. While in the narrow sense, it means that the joint owners of shares are registered on the stock ledger according to the Company Law. The joint ownership of shares has the attributes of quasi-joint-ownership, so the provisions of Civil Law related to joint ownership can be applied to it. However, the provisions of the Company Law on the jointly-owned shares should prevail in application.The provisions on joint ownership of shares in Company Law include four aspects. The first aspect is the norms regulating the exertion of rights on the jointly-owned shares. It is the most important content concerning to joint ownership of shares in the Company Law, whose purpose is to make the exertion of rights on the jointly-owned shares adapt to the requirement of modern company system. Thus the joint owners of shares should designate a representative to exercise their rights. If no representative is determined, the rights on the jointly-owned shares could not be exercised by any of the owners unless the company or related parties recognize the validity of such act. The second aspect is the norms regulating the notification and delivery by the company to the jointly-owned shareholders. Such norms help to judge the validity of related corporate behaviors, maintain a good order within the company, and safeguard the interests of the joint owners of shares. In general, the company should notify or deliver to the representative of the joint owners. If the representative is ambiguous, the company could notify or deliver to any of the joint owners instead. The third aspect is the norms regulating the joint owners’ joint and several obligation of paying off the contributions. It is a mandatory provision on the joint owners of the shares to satisfy the requirement of the company capital system. The last one is the norms concerning the registration of joint owners on stock ledger, which is the basis of the Company Law to regulate joint ownership of shares. This article also provides some suggestions for §35 of the draft judicial interpretation (third) of the Company Law. |
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