New provisions on jurisdiction of corporate disputes
Abstract
The article examines new provisions of Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine in respect to commercial courts’ jurisdiction in resolution of corporate disputes and disputes closely related to corporate ones (quasi-corporate) and to establish new rules and approaches in resolution of corporate disputes in commercial courts of Ukraine.
The research methodology is comparison of provisions of Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine effective before and after 15 December 2017 regarding resolution of cases arising from corporate disputes as well as analysis of corporate law and relevant case law of Supreme Court. With references given to Supreme Court judgments, the content of corporate rights is being analyzed in the paper as well as elements of corporate disputes being clarified. Particular emphasis in the paper is placed on proving the broader range of subjects of corporate relations which may present their cases in court than there used to be before the new Code entered into force as well as the broader interpretation of possible cases in disputes arising from corporate relations.
As a result, a new classification of corporate and quasi-corporate disputes is proposed in the paper. Also, based on the case law of Supreme Court, the paper explains why some disputes are not corporate, although, at first glance, they have all the features of a corporate dispute, and vice versa – why other disputes should be considered corporate, despite the fact that they have signs of an ordinary dispute of civil character.
One of practical implications of the study is a conclusion that, in addition to the «traditional» cases arising of disputes between members of a legal entity or between the members and the same legal entity, corporate disputes under the new Commercial Procedural Code of Ukraine may include other disputes, the defining feature of which as corporate ones is not only a composition of subjects of the case, but also the nature of corporate relationships in question. Also, the article explains why certain legal positions of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine regarding the definition and characteristics of corporate disputes and their jurisdiction are no longer relevant.
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