Companies law
Company · Business
Sole proprietorship
Partnership (General · Limited · LLP)
Corporation
Cooperative
United States:
S corporation · C corporation LLC · LLLP · Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation Business trust
UK/Ireland/Commonwealth:
Limited company (By shares · By guarantee) (Public · Proprietary) Community interest company
European Union/EEA:
SE · SCE
Other countries:
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · AS · GmbH
K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · Full list
Doctrines
Corporate governance
Limited liability · Ultra vires
Business judgment rule
Internal affairs doctrine
De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Rochdale Principles
Related areas of law
Contract · Civil procedure

Generally, a company is a form of business organization. Companies law (or the law of business associations) is the field of Law concerning business and other organizations The precise definition varies.

In the United States, a company is "a corporation—or, less commonly, an association, partnership, or union—that carries on a commercial or industrial enterprise. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the "^[1] Generally, a company may be a "corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, fund, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, and (in an official capacity) any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or similar official, or liquidating agent, for any of the foregoing. A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners A joint stock company (JSC is a type of business entity it is a type of Corporation or Partnership. Investment trusts are companies that invest in the shares of other companies for the purpose of acting as a Collective investment. A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investments that pools money from many investors and Invests it in Stocks bonds, "^[1]

In English law, and therefore in the Commonwealth realms, a company is a form of body corporate or corporation, generally registered under the Companies Acts or similar legislation. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch In English Law (and as a result throughout the Commonwealth Realms) body corporate is the legal term for a Corporation. United Kingdom company law is governed by the Companies Act 2006. It does not include a partnership or any other unincorporated group of persons.

Etymology

The word company is traced from a 1150 A. D. (CE) O. Fr. term compaignie or "body of soldiers" and from L. L. companio (companion). The word's meaning of "subdivision of an infantry regiment" is from 1590. The use of the word in a sense of "business association" was first recorded 1553, having earlier been used in reference to trade guilds (1303). A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers The abbreviation co. dates from 1759. ^[2]

History

According to one source, "it may be formed by Act of Parliament, by Royal Charter, or by registration under company law (referred to as a limited liability or joint-stock company). TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those "^[3] In England, the main regulating law is the Companies (Consolidated) Act (1985). England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland ^[3] Reportedly, "a company registered under this Act has limited liability: its owners (the shareholders) have no financial liability in the event of winding up the affairs of the company, but they might lose the money already invested in it. ^[3] In the USA, companies are registered in a particular state—Delaware being especially favoured—and become Incorporated (Inc). Delaware ( is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. ^[3]

In North America, two of the earliest companies were The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London)—an English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I of England on April 10, 1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America—and Plymouth Company that was granted an identical charter as part of the Virginia Company. The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London) was an English Joint stock company established by royal charter by England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A joint stock company (JSC is a type of business entity it is a type of Corporation or Partnership. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James Events 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. 1407 - the lama The Plymouth Company (the Plymouth Adventurers, also called the Virginia Company of Plymouth or simply Virginia Bay Company) was an English The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I in 1606 with the purposes of establishing The London Company was responsible for establishing the Jamestown Settlement, the first permanent English settlement in the present United States in 1607, and in the process of sending additional supplies, inadvertently settled the Somers Isles, alias Bermuda, the oldest-remaining English colony, in 1609. Jamestown, located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony, was founded on May 14 1607 Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Types

For a country-by-country listing, see Types of business entity. There are many types of business entity defined in the legal systems of various countries

There are various types of company that can be formed in different jurisdictions, but the most common forms of company (generally formed by registration under applicable companies legislation) are:

• A company limited by shares. A private company limited by shares is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries The most common form of company used for business ventures. Specifically, a limited company is a "company in which the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount individually invested" with corporations being "the most common example of a limited company. "^[1] This type of company is common in England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
• A limited-liability company. A limited liability company (abbreviated LLC or LLC) in the law of the vast majority of the United States is a legal form of business Company "A company—statutorily authorized in certain states—that is characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, and limitations on ownership transfer", i. e. , L. L. C. ^[1]
• A company limited by guarantee. In British or Irish Company law, a company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of Corporation used primarily for Non-profit Commonly used where companies are formed for non-commercial purposes, such as clubs or charities. The members guarantee the payment of certain (usually nominal) amounts if the company goes into insolvent liquidation, but otherwise they have no economic rights in relation to the company. This type of company is common in England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
• A company limited by guarantee with a share capital. A hybrid entity, usually used where the company is formed for non-commercial purposes, but the activities of the company are partly funded by investors who expect a return. This type of company may no longer be formed in the UK, although provisions still exist in law for them to exist. ^[4]
• An unlimited liability company. In the United Kingdom, an unlimited company is a company formed by registration under the Companies Act 1985 where the liability of the members is unlimited - A company where the liability of members for the debts of the company are unlimited. Today these are only seen in rare and unusual circumstances.

Less commonly seen types of companies are:

• charter corporations. A Royal Charter is a Charter granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy council to legitimize an incorporated body such as a city company Before the passing of modern companies legislation, these were the only types of companies. Now they are relatively rare, except for very old companies that still survive (of which there are still many, particularly many British banks), or modern societies that fulfil a quasi regulatory function (for example, the Bank of England is a corporation formed by a modern charter). The Bank of England (formally the Governor and Company of the Bank of England) is a state-owned institution and the Central bank of the United Kingdom
• Statutory Companies. Relatively rare today, certain companies have been formed by a private statute passed in the relevant jurisdiction.
• Companies formed by letters patent. Most corporations by letters patent are corporations sole and not companies as the term is commonly understood today. In English Law, a corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ('sole' incorporated office occupied by a single ('sole' man or woman

Note that "Ltd after the company's name signifies limited, and PLC (public limited company) indicates that its shares are widely held. "^[3]

In legal parlance, the owners of a company are normally referred to as the "members". In a company limited by shares, this will be the shareholders. A mutual shareholder or stockholder is an Individual or company (including a Corporation) that legally owns one or more shares of In a company limited by guarantee, this will be the guarantors. Some offshore jurisdictions have created special forms of offshore company in a bid to attract business for their jurisdictions. An offshore financial centre (or OFC) although not precisely defined is usually a low- Tax, lightly Regulated jurisdiction which specializes in providing An offshore company is a company which does not conduct substantial business in its country of incorporation. Examples include "segregated portfolio companies" and restricted purpose companies. A segregated portfolio company (or SPC) sometimes referred to as a protected cell company, is a Company which segregates the assets and liabilities of

There are however, many, many sub-categories of types of company that can be formed in various jurisdictions in the world.

Companies are also sometimes distinguished for legal and regulatory purposes between public companies and private companies. A Public Limited Company ( PLC, plc or plc or p l c is a type of Limited company in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which is The term privately held company refers to ownership of a business company in two different ways first referring to ownership by non-governmental organizations and second Public companies are companies whose shares can be publicly traded, often (although not always) on a regulated stock exchange. A stock exchange, share market or bourse is a Corporation or Mutual organization which provides "trading" facilities for Stock Private companies do not have publicly traded shares, and often contain restrictions on transfers of shares. In some jurisdictions, private companies have maximum numbers of shareholders.

See also

• Companies law
• Corporate law
• Corporation
• Guild
• Joint-stock company
• Loan guarantee
• Partnership
• Sole proprietorship
• Trust (law)
• Voluntary association

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Black's Law Dictionary. Companies law (or the law of business associations) is the field of Law concerning business and other organizations Corporate law (also "company" or "corporations" law is the Law of the most dominant kind of business enterprise in the modern world A corporation is a separate legal entity usually used to conduct business A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers A joint stock company (JSC is a type of business entity it is a type of Corporation or Partnership. A loan guarantee is a promise by a government to assume a private debt obligation if the borrower defaults. For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners A sole proprietorship, or simply proprietorship ( Benjamen Clark In Common law legal systems a trust is an arrangement whereby Property (including real tangible and intangible is managed by one person (or persons or organizations A voluntary association or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, unincorporated association, or just an association) is a group Second Pocket Edition. Bryan A. Garner, editor. West. 2001.
2. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary. 2001 Douglas Harper. [1]
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Company. " Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. Crystal Reference Systems Limited. 27 Nov. 2007. Reference.com
4. ^ Companies Act 2006

External links

• Company Law Caselist

Further reading

• Dignam, A and Lowry, J (2006) Company Law, Oxford University Press ISBN-13: 978-0-19-928936-3.
• John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, The Company: a Short History of a Revolutionary Idea (New York: Modern Library, 2003)