晚清《公司律》下的股東查閱權──以粵路公司為中心

Shareholder Inspection Rights under the Company Law in Late Qing: The Case of Guangdong Railway Company

清廷在1904年頒布的《公司律》，是中國的第一部全國性公司法，其中條文已為投資者的股東查閱權提供了正式成文法律保障，亦同時對可能出現的濫用設立了防範。然而，《公司律》的實際執行情況卻令人失望。粵路公司股東在1906年和1909年曾嘗試行使其查閱權，但由於官員怯於挑戰把持公司的地方紳商勢力等原因，對管理層違反《公司律》的行為未有依法追究，兩次股東組織的查帳行動均未能成功完成。官員執法不力，股東權益欠缺實質保護。

The Company Law (Gongsi lü公司律) promulgated by the Qing court in 1904 was China’s first national company law. Its provisions provided formal written legal protection for shareholders’inspection rights, with safeguards against abuse. Actual implementation of the law, however, was disappointing. Shareholders of Guangdong Railway Company (yuelu gongsi粵路公司) tried twice to exercise their inspection rights in 1906 and 1909, organising special audits of the company’s accounts. Government officials, however, were reluctant to challenge the local gentry-merchants (shenshang紳商) who controlled the company, so the Company Law was not enforced effectively. Shareholders failed to complete the two special audits. With weak official enforcement, there was inadequate protection for shareholders’rights.