章程自治的界限──特別股類型限定的反省

The Limit of Corporate Charter Autonomy: Rethinking the Preferred Stock Issue

公司章程是規定公司組織及活動的根本規則。通說常認為公司得依章程自治，並在章程中自由安排內部權利義務關係。但在臺灣實務上，此一章程自治空間可能因主管機關的函釋而大幅受限。就此而言，特別股即為適例。對此，本文特別指出法條的文義解釋並不支持主管機關的限縮見解。新增的閉鎖性公司專節雖賦予閉鎖性公司更大的發行特別股的空間，其開放、去管制的立法目的甚為顯然，但基於專節規定的體系解釋，可能使得主管機關未來仍採取相對保守的立場。就此觀之，未來若有進一步的修法應採取一以貫之的態度，俾便主管機關與公司依循，以使章程自治能夠充分落實。

Corporate charters are the fundamental rules that govern the structure and activities of corporations. It is often argued that corporations can enjoy charter autonomy and arrange the internal relationships in the charters. But in practice, corporations in Taiwan may find the autonomy is rather limited by the authorities’ rulemaking. A case in point is the law on preferred stocks. This paper first reveals that even textualism cannot support the authorities’ narrow interpretation of this law. In contrast to the current rule, the newly enacted Close Corporation Section in Taiwan Company Law broadens charter autonomy and empowers the close corporations created under this Section to issue types of preferred stocks that are not allowed otherwise. While the legislative intent cannot be clearer, it is suggested that the inconsistency in the new Section and a contextualist interpretation of it may prevent the authorities from taking a liberal approach. By examining the issue, this paper argues that, for charter autonomy to be fully respected, a consistent approach is needed in guiding the authorities’ future interpretation and enforcement.