“Dead Souls” in the Activities of a Joint-Stock Company: The Legal Nature and Legal Consequences

Abstract

Introduction: in the paper, the authors highlight the problems of having “dead souls” or “lost” shareholders in a joint-stock company. The ways of their solution are analyzed. The purpose is to consider the advantages and disadvantages of “dead souls” in a joint-stock company. The question is raised about the need to modernize the legislation to solve this problem. Using the methods of scientific cognition, the authors analyzed the legal essence and legal consequences of the presence of “dead souls” (deceased shareholders) in the activities of joint-stock companies in order to identify the areas for improving the legislation in the field of regulating “dead souls” in a joint-stock company. Results: currently, joint-stock companies have difficulties with missing participants in the register, referred to as “dead souls”. This may cause significant losses to the joint-stock company and negatively affect the continuation of its activities. Conclusions: the majority of joint-stock companies that have previously fulfilled the obligation to maintain their own register do not now have the ability to control the personal data of shareholders and their participants. As a result, in this country, most joint-stock companies have difficulties with the presence of a general quorum at the general meetings of shareholders (50% + 1 share).