Lifting the corporate veil in China: Statutory vagueness, shareholder ignorance and case precedents in a civil law system

Hawes, C; Lau, AKL; Young, A

Lifting the corporate veil in China: Statutory vagueness, shareholder ignorance and case precedents in a civil law system

Hawes, C

Lau, AKL Young, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Corporate Law Studies, 2015, 15 (2), pp. 341 - 376
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hawes, C https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3796-8421	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lau, AKL	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Young, A	en_US
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Corporate Law Studies, 2015, 15 (2), pp. 341 - 376	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1473-5970	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/121547
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 Taylor & Francis. This article surveys almost 300 court judgments in which shareholders have been sued for corporate debts under Article 20 of the PRC Company Law. The frequency of ‘veillifting’ can indicate how much weight is ascribed in China to fundamental corporate law principles such as limited liability, asset partitioning and the separate legal identity of the corporation. Our survey finds that shareholders were found liable for corporate debts in over 75% of cases, a significantly higher rate of veil-lifting than in jurisdictions elsewhere in the world. We challenge previous scholars’ explanations of this phenomenon. We also argue that statutory vagueness has led to unfair and inconsistent veil-lifting judgments in a number of cases. The current interpretative system of Supreme People’s Court Regulations and Guiding Cases needs modification to ensure that inconsistencies in adjudication are ironed out in a more timely manner.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Corporate Law Studies	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/14735970.2015.1057965	en_US
dc.title	Lifting the corporate veil in China: Statutory vagueness, shareholder ignorance and case precedents in a civil law system	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	15	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	15	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 Taylor & Francis. This article surveys almost 300 court judgments in which shareholders have been sued for corporate debts under Article 20 of the PRC Company Law. The frequency of ‘veillifting’ can indicate how much weight is ascribed in China to fundamental corporate law principles such as limited liability, asset partitioning and the separate legal identity of the corporation. Our survey finds that shareholders were found liable for corporate debts in over 75% of cases, a significantly higher rate of veil-lifting than in jurisdictions elsewhere in the world. We challenge previous scholars’ explanations of this phenomenon. We also argue that statutory vagueness has led to unfair and inconsistent veil-lifting judgments in a number of cases. The current interpretative system of Supreme People’s Court Regulations and Guiding Cases needs modification to ensure that inconsistencies in adjudication are ironed out in a more timely manner.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/121547