Articles of Association (law)
Encyclopedia
The term articles of association of a company, or articles of incorporation
Articles of Incorporation
The Articles of Incorporation are the primary rules governing the management of a corporation in the United States and Canada, and are filed with a state or other regulatory agency.An equivalent term for LLCs in the United States is the Articles of Organization...

, of an American or Canadian Company, are often simply referred to as articles (and are often capitalized as an abbreviation for the full term). The Articles are a requirement for the establishment of a company under the law of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and many other countries. Together with the memorandum of association
Memorandum of Association
The memorandum of association of a company, often simply called the memorandum , is the document that governs the relationship between the company and the outside...

, they constitute the constitution of a company. The equivalent term for LLC
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...

 is Articles of Organization
Articles of Organization
The Articles of Organization is a document similar to the articles of incorporation, outlining the initial statements required to form an LLC at the State level a limited liability company...

. Roughly equivalent terms operate in other countries, such as Gesellschaftsvertrag in Germany, statuts in France, statut in Poland,, Jeong-gwan in South Korea.

The following is largely based on British Company Law, references which are made at the end of this Article.

The Articles can cover a medley of topics, not all of which is required in a country's law. Although all terms are not discussed, they may cover:
  • the issuing of shares (also called stock
    Stock
    The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

    ), different voting rights attached to different classes of shares
  • valuation of intellectual rights, say, the valuations of the IPR of one partner and, in a similar way as how we value real estate of another partner
  • the appointments of directors - which shows whether a shareholder dominates or shares equality with all contributors
  • directors meetings - the quorum and percentage of vote
  • management decisions - whether the board manages or a founder
  • transferability of shares - assignment rights of the founders or other members of the company do
  • special voting rights of a Chairman,and his/her mode of election
  • the dividend policy
    Dividend policy
    Dividend policy is concerned with taking a decision regarding paying cash dividend in the present or paying an increased dividend at a later stage. The firm could also pay in the form of stock dividends which unlike cash dividends do not provide liquidity to the investors, however, it ensures...

     - a percentage of profits to be declared when there is profit or otherwise
  • winding up - the conditions, notice to members
  • confidentiality of know-how and the founders' agreement and penalties for disclosure
  • first right of refusal - purchase rights and counter-bid by a founder.


A Company is essentially run by the shareholders, but for convenience, and day-to-day working, by the elected Directors. Usually, the shareholders elect a Board of Directors (BOD) at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which may be statutory (e.g. India).

The number of Directors depends on the size of the Company and statutory requirements. The Chairperson is generally a well-known outsider but he /she may be a working Executive of the company, typically of an American Company. The Directors may, or may not, be employees of the Company.

In the emerging countries there are usually some major shareholders who come together to form the company. Each usually has the right to nominate, without objection of the other, a certain number of Directors who become nominees for the election by the shareholder body at the AGM. The Treasurer and Chairperson is usually the privilege of one of the JV partners (which nomination can be shared). Shareholders may also elect Independent Directors (from the public). The Chair would be a person not associated with the promoters of the company, a person is generally a well-known outsider.

Once elected, the BOD manages the Company. The shareholders play no part till the next AGM/EGM. The Objectives and the purpose of the Company are determined in advance by the shareholders and the Memorandum of Association (MOA),if separate, which denotes the name of the Company, its Head- Office, street address, and (founding)Directors and the main purposes of the Company - for public access. It cannot be changed except at an AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) and statutory allowance. The MOA is generally filed with a 'Registrar of Companies' who is an appointee of the Government the country. For their assurance, the shareholders are permitted to elect an Auditor at each AGM. There can be Internal Auditors (employees)as well as an External Auditor.

The Board meets several times each year. At each meeting there is an 'agenda' before it. A minimum number of Directors (a quorum) is required to meet. This is either determined by the 'by-laws' or is a statutory requirement. It is presided over by the Chairperson, or in his absence, by the Vice-Chair. The Directors survey their area of responsibility. They may determine to make a 'Resolution' at the next AGM or if it is an urgent matter, at an EGM. The Directors who are the electives of one major shareholder, may present his/her view but this is not necessarily so - they may have to view the Objectives of the Company and competitive position. The Chair may have to 'break' the vote if there is a 'tie'. At the AGM, the various Resolutions are put to vote.

The AGM is called with a notice sent to all shareholders with a clear interval. A certain quorum of shareholders are required to meet. If the quorum requirement is not met , it is canceled and another Meeting called. If it at that too a quorum is not met, a Third Meeting may be called and the members present, unlimited by the quorum, take all decisions. There are variations to this among companies and countries.

Decisions are taken by a show of hands; the Chair is always present. Where decisions are made by a show of hands is challenged, it is met by a count of votes. Voting can be taken in person or by marking the paper sent by the Company. A person who is not a shareholder of the Company can vote if he/she has the 'proxy', an authorization from the shareholder. Each share carries the number of votes attached to it. Some votes maybe for the decision, others not. Two types of decision known as the Ordinary Resolution and a Special Resolution.

A Special Resolution can be tabled at a Director's Meeting. The Ordinary Resolution requires the endorsement by a majority vote, sometimes easily met by partners' vote. The Special Resolution requires a 60,70 or 80% of the vote as stipulated by the 'constitution' of the Company. Shareholders other than partners may vote. The matters which require the Ordinary and Special Resolution to be passed are enumerated in Company or Corporate Law . Special Resolutions covering some topics may be a statutory requirement.

Some of the articles are shown in the Nestle S.A. or Nestle Ltd or a Nestle AG .

In the United Kingdom, model articles of association, known as Table A
Table A
Table A in UK company law is the old name for to the Model Articles or default form of articles of association for companies limited by shares incorporated either in England and Wales or in Scotland before 1 October 2009 where the incorporators do not explicitly choose to use a modified form...

 have been published since 1865. The articles of association of most companies – particularly small companies – are Table A, or closely derived from it. However, a company is free to incorporate under different articles of association, or to amend its articles of association at any time by a special resolution of its shareholders, provided that they meet the requirements and restrictions of the Companies Acts. Such requirements tend to be more onerous for public companies
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...

 than for private ones
Private company limited by shares
A private company limited by shares, usually called a private limited company , is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland...

.

The Companies Act 2006
Companies Act 2006
The Companies Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. It had the distinction of being the longest in British Parliamentary history: with 1,300 sections and covering nearly 700 pages, and containing 16 schedules but it has since...

 received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

 on 8 November 2006 and was fully implemented on 1 October 2009. It provides for a new form of model articles of association for companies incorporated in the United Kingdom. Under the new legislation, the articles of association will become the single constitutional document
Constitutional documents
In relation to artificial persons, the constitutional documents of the entity are the documents which define the existence of the entity and regulate the structure and control of the entity and its members...

for a UK company, and will subsume the role currently filled by the separate memorandum of association.

External links

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