Įmonių grupės: reglamentavimas Europos Bendrijos ir Lietuvos teisėje

LTStraipsnyje „Įmonių grupės: reglamentavimas Europos Bendrijos ir Lietuvos teisėje“ nagrinėjami klausimai, susiję su įmonių grupės fenomenu, jų sprendimo standartai pagal Europos Bendrijos bendrovių teisę, kai kurių ES valstybių narių teisės koncepcijos ir teisinis reglamentavimas Lietuvoje bei jo spragos. Siekiant užsibrėžtų tikslų, straipsnyje aptariami bendrieji įmonių grupių reglamentavimo aspektai, atskleidžiant vyraujančias tendencijas ir reglamentavimo sunkumus, ir nagrinėjami pagrindiniai svarbiausi įmonių grupių reglamentavimo klausimai. Straipsnyje įmonių grupės samprata analizuojama nagrinėjant pagrindinius grupės elementus: grupę sudarančių subjektų teisinį statusą, kontrolę ir grupės interesus. Po to nagrinėjamos dvi svarbiausios įmonių grupių reglamentavimo kryptys-narių (akcininkų) mažumos interesų apsauga ir kreditorių interesų apsauga. Straipsnyje pateikiamos priemonės, naudojamos šių asmenų interesams apsaugoti tiek EB, tiek atskirų valstybių teisėje. Visi šie klausimai straipsnyje analizuojami vertinant EB ir kai kurių ES valstybių narių teisės nuostatas kartu ir Lietuvoje esančio teisinio reglamentavimo aspektu. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Įmonių grupė; Europos Bendrijos bendrovių teisė; Akcininkas; Kreditoriai; Groups of companies; European Community company law; Shareholders; Creditors.

ENThe globalisation of markets and especially the internal market in the Europe encourages the expansion of activities in different countries. Company desiring to establish in other places can choose from the several possibilities. One of them - subsidiary or affiliated company - creates the group of companies with the following necessity for legal regulation and introduction of exceptions of the general rules of the company law. Despite such actual relations recognised as inevitable reality legal regulation of the groups of companies is behind it both in the EC and in the most of the Member States' laws. Situation is even worst in Lithuania legislation. Some aspects attributable to regulation of the groups could be described only as the fragmental attempts. The competence to regulate the groups of companies including the recognition still belongs to the Member States and that fact is detrimental for the internal market and its operators. However the EC Treaty provides some basic principles for non - discriminatory treatment of the groups with subjects from the different Member States. It is also possible to find individual non - systematic rules dealing with those questions in the EC law. To define the group is necessary to establish three main elements. The first one relates to persons forming the group. For the legal regulation has no importance legal status of the parent undertaking but still there is no common answer concerning participation of natural persons and state. Different rules or no rules apply to the controlled companies taking into account are they public companies, public companies whose shares are listed in the securities markets or are they private companies (limited liability companies).The same problems concern definition of the control, but some common characteristics could be found in the EC law such as control of the voting rights and rights to appoint or dismiss majority of members of the management or supervisory board. The indirect control rules are also helpful to establish the domination within the group. The most complicated element of the group - the separate interests of the entire group and subordination of the interests of the individual company to the former also still is without single answer. The main rule for the protection of minority of shareholders in the affiliated company introduced in the proposal for the Thirteenth Company Law Directive is derived from the English legal tradition and requires compulsory bid to be made by the parent subject for the rest of shareholders. The other "equivalent" measures applied in some other Member States could be only as additional safeguards. Minority of members of the affiliated company should be provided with other rights, such as rights to withdraw from the company, demand appoint an independent expert and others. Neither the EC Company law, nor the most of the Member States or Lithuania have adequate rules for the protection of creditors of the controlled company. Proposal for a Ninth Directive failed to introduce such rules based under Germany law model in the EC. For that reason still exist different approaches concerning piercing limited liability: English law concept based on the facts and improper or harmful conduct and German law concept based on detailed regulation and exchange of the domination for the responsibility.To fill up the gap in the legal system of Lithuania and in the absence of statutory regulation the competent courts should introduce relevant rules by analogy of law which would protect civil rights and interest of the members and third persons or, more generally, achieve justice. Another possibility could be to expand the definition of a manager as to include the majority of shareholders (dominating company) as an actual manager and apply to it general rules of responsibility. [From the publication]