公司法制的數位化及COVID-19的挑戰：以股東會機制的演化為中心

Digitalization of Corporate Law post the COVID-19 pandemic: The Evolution of Corporate Meetings

本文旨在探討資訊科技的進步以及COVID-19疫情的催化下，遠距公司會議（特別著重於股東會）於公司法制上的發展及未來方向。資訊科技的發展會對市場實務運作及市場參與者的行為造成影響，最終可能導致法律機制的演化與發展，於制度設計上應有足夠的彈性來因應市場環境的變化。股東會傳統上係以實體會議的方式來集會並透過決議來進行意思表示的決定，但隨科技的發展，世界各國對遠距方式進行股東會的接受方式不一，但在疫情催化下，於不同程度內會常鼓勵遠距股東會。在疫情過去之後，本文以為，就公開化程度較高的公司，主管機關及立法者應考量如何利用遠距會議的方式來強化股東會集會及討論的實質功能，以利提升一般股東對股東會的積極參與以強化股東權的行使；考量到科技使用仍然在發展中，本文建議立法者可考慮容許以併存或混合式的方式以實體及遠距的方式來召開股東會。簡言之，主管機關可採取更開明的思維來開放科技於公司機會議的採用，以彈性的方式來漸進式地調整法律機制，以透過市場機制來促使公司選擇最有效率召開股東會的機制。若此，則科技的進步，透過疫情的催化及實務上的試驗，最終可能成為影響公司法制往數位化發展的動力。

This article examines the evolution of corporate meetings (including shareholders’ and board meetings) alongside the development of information technology amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on general meetings. The development of information and communication technology in the past three decades has greatly improved ways to convene a corporate meeting. It may result in changes to market environment and people’s behaviours, eventually causing evolution of legal institutions. Traditionally, corporate meetings have to be convened physically in a face-to-face fashion. Several countries have allowed electronic general meetings to some extent pre-pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic becomes a catalyst for more popular use of electronic general meetings to reduce public gatherings at least as a temporary measure. Post the pandemic, this article proposes that Taiwan law should open more room for public companies to use electronic methods to convene a general meeting. There are still technical issues to be resolved such as cyber risk, identity verification and real-time voting. But those issues should not be an obstacle for electronic meetings, since many listed companies in Taiwan already allow shareholders to vote electronically in advance via the platform operated by the custodian services. In addition, electronic meetings should improve shareholders participation (especially for individual investors) and promote better shareholders’ power to shape the will of a company. Allowing greater use of electronic meetings should also strengthen the function of general meetings as a venue for shareholders to convene and discuss before a decision. Instead of allowing companies to use electronic meetings as an exclusive way to convene a general meeting, regulators can consider hybrid meetings to accommodate the benefits of both physical and electronic meetings while developing better technological solutions for strong verification and real-time voting systems. In the end, the market will decide which method is most efficient and determine the force of institutional evolution in corporate law triggered by technological development facilitated by the global pandemic.