獨立董事召開股東臨時會之權限──自近期實務出發

Authority of Independent Directors to Call Special Shareholders’Meetings: A Discussion Based on Recent Court Decisions

我國公司法第220條賦予公司監督者召開股東會之權限，以適時藉由股東會決議解決公司產生之問題或僵局，復依照證券交易法第14條之4第4項之規定，於審計委員會中獨立董事準用之，準此，獨立董事依法似具單獨召開股東臨時會之權限。
現行上市櫃公司已全面強制設置獨立董事及審計委員會取代監察人之地位，其相關法規與實務發展對於公司治理所產生之影響不言而喻，惟自獨立董事制度引進以來，頻傳公司不同派系間依據上開規定，透過其陣營之獨立董事自行召集股東臨時會，實則欲以股東會改選董監事並展開公司經營權角力之案例，此舉不僅造成公司營運之動盪，甚有礙公司治理運作，使大眾對於獨立董事之定位與制度產生疑慮。
據此，本文將針對獨立董事召開股東臨時會此一權限為探討，並檢視近年所發生經營權爭奪之著名案例──泰山案與光洋科案，以及法院對於此等事件之見解與動向。2023年6月，立法院雖已對證券交易法第14條之4第4項及第14條之5等相關規定完成三讀修法，將召開股東臨時會之權限劃分為審計委員會之職權範疇，以杜上開爭議，然而，此次修正仍有部分疑慮尚待釐清，本文亦將提出解決之道，以供參酌。

Article 220 of the Company Law of Taiwan grants the supervisor of a company the authority to call a shareholders’meeting to resolve problems or deadlocks arising from the company through a resolution of the shareholders’meeting in a timely manner. In accordance with Paragraph 4 of Article 14-4 of the Securities and Exchange Act, this provision shall apply mutatis mutandis to Independent Directors who are members of the Audit Committee. Therefore, Independent Directors are entitled to call Special Shareholders’Meetings independently in accordance with the laws.
Currently, it is mandatory for listed companies and over-the-counter companies to establish Independent Directors and Audit Committees to replace the supervisors’role, so the impact of the corresponding regulations and practical developments on corporate governance is self-evident. However, since the introduction of the Independent Director system, it has been frequently reported that the company party and the market party have independently called Special Shareholders’Meetings through their respective parties’Independent Directors in accordance with the above-mentioned laws, which in fact seeks to re-elect directors and supervisors at the shareholders’meetings, thus creating competition for the company management rights. This causes turmoil in the company’s operations, hinders the company’s governance, and raises public concern about the position and system of Independent Directors.
This article discusses the authority of Independent Directors to call Special Shareholders’Meetings, and reviews the cases of management rights competition that have occurred in practice in recent years - the Taishan case and the Guangyangke case, as well as the court’s opinions and trends on these events. In June 2023, the Legislative Yuan completed the amendment of Paragraph 4 of Article 14-4 and other provisions of the Securities and Exchange Act, which granted the authority to call Special Shareholders’Meetings to the Audit Committee to avoid the above-mentioned disputes. However, there are still some concerns that need to be clarified, and this article will propose solutions for reference.