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company. 47 For example, if a company is faced with a high risk venture with potential high returns, under the current legal framework, directors should act in the interests of the company, namely the shareholders whose interests would be high profits. 48 Therefore the directors would most certainly take up the project. Given the risky nature of the project, there is a possibility that the venture would fail and affect the company‟s financial position. 49 On the other hand, if directors also have a duty to consider the interests of creditors, they will have to weigh the effects of their decisions on creditors as well and such decisions would not only be based on the amount of potential profits to be generated. Directors should assess any decisions to be made with caution so that the company is not exposed to unnecessary or illegitimate risks. 50 This, in turn, may save the company from encountering financial difficulties in the future. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that companies face commercial risks all the time and creditors themselves are well aware of this. What is proposed is not that the company is not allowed to take risks or should be overly cautious in assessing the risks, but that consideration should be also given to the interests of the creditors when making decisions. 9.3.2 Duty to Use Powers for Proper Purpose Pursuant to the duty of loyalty and good faith, directors must discharge their duty for purposes conferred on them by the Company‟s Constitution. 51 In order to determine whether the directors have breached their duty, the proper approach is for the courts 47 Brian Cheffins Company Law: Theory, Structure and Operation (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997) at 541. 48 Ibid. 49 Ibid. 50 Mountfort v Tasman Pacific Airlines of NZ Ltd [2006] 1 NZLR 104 at 114. 51 The Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association. 198
to look at the directors‟ purpose in using the power and not on the effect of exercising such power. 52 Nevertheless, it is still important that directors exercise their powers for the benefit of the company. 53 The courts, for instance, have imposed liability on directors for issuing shares with the aim of enhancing their control over the company. 54 However, if the directors were to issue more shares for legitimate commercial purposes, the court would not interfere with the decision. 55 The courts reluctance to interfere in management‟s decisions unless there are legitimate commercial reasons illustrates the traditional view that it is not the role of the courts to decide on how the company should be managed. 56 Professor Farrar cautioned that the concept of non-interference by the courts should be contrasted with the business judgment rule; while the former relates to the business judgment doctrine, the latter refers to the presumption that directors will have no liability provided certain conditions are fulfilled. 57 52 Austin and Ramsay above n26 at [8.200]. 53 Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd [1974] AC 821, the Privy Council decided that directors were free to act without consent of the majority but most not do so for the purpose of diluting majority or creating new majority. In Hogg v Cramphorn Ltd [1967] Ch 254, the court held that if the issuance of shares is for an improper motive, it would be set aside regardless of whether it was made with the bona fide belief that it was for the benefit of the company. See also Harlowe’s Nomines Pty Ltd v Woodside (Lake Entrance))Oil Co No Liability (1968) 121 CLR 483; Dr Mahesan & Ors v Punnusamay & Ors [1994] 3 MLJ 312; Soo Boon Siong @Saw Boon Siong v Saw Fatt Seong and Soo Hock Seang *as estate representative Soo Boon Kooi @ Saw Boon Kooy (deceased) & Ors [2008] 1 MLJ 27. 54 Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd [1974] AC 821; Soo Boon Siong @Saw Boon Siong v Saw Fatt Seong and Soo Hock Seang *as estate representative Soo Boon Kooi @ Saw Boon Kooy (deceased) & Ors [2008] 1 MLJ 27. 55 Punt v Symons & Co Ltd [1903] 2 Ch 506. 56 See generally and the cases discussed Austin and Ramsay above n26 at [8.060]. 57 Farrar above n35 at 149. 199
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http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.n
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ABSTRACT This study examines the le
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACNOWL
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CHAPTER 5 THEORY OF THE CORPORATION
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7.3.3.3 Distribute its Capital to M
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10.2.5.1 Meaning of Insolvency 10.2
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10.6.2.2 Carrying on of any Busines
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CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEND
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CLC Australian Company Law Cases CL
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Stanford LR Stanford Law Review Ste
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Facia Footwear Ltd (in administrati
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Re Avon Chambers Ltd [1978] 2 NZLR
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Re Produce Marketing Consortium Ltd
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Ultraframe (UK) v Fielding & Ors [2
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Mountford v Tasman Pacific Airlines
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Australia 3M Australia Pty Ltd v Ke
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Linton v Telnet Pty Ltd (1999) 30 A
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Malaysia Abdul Aziz bin Atan v Lada
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Perman Sdn Bhd & Ors v European Com
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Other Jurisdictions Singapore Rahj
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Companies Act 2006 Section 60(3)(c)
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Section 993 Section 993(2) Section
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Insolvency Act 1985 37, 70 Insolven
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Section 251 255 Part II Schedule 6
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Section 52(1) Section 52(2) Section
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Section 272(2) Section 272(2)(a) Se
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Section 385(4)(b) Section 385(4)(b)
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AUSTRALIA Absent Debtors Act (NSW)
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Section 206D(1)(b)(b)(ii) 374 secti
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Section 588FE(2)(a) Section 588FE(2
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section 588H (5) 241 Section 588H(6
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Section 598(3)(b) Section 598(3)(c)
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Bankruptcy Act 1967 MALAYSIA Sectio
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Section 130A(6) 391 Section 131 221
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Companies Regulation 1966 Regulatio
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CHAPTER 1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE THES
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A discussion of directors’ duties
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The far-reaching implication of cor
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2.2.1 The United Kingdom The common
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2.2.3 Australia Australia has been
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CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE SURVEY - AN OV
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shareholders, had failed to mitigat
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was mainly responsible for the chal
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3.3 Interests in the Company-Shareh
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contributed by the shareholders and
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Statutes have attempted to address
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how the matter should be dealt with
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4.2 Development of Corporate and In
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colonies. 14 The emergence of compa
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originally incorporated in order to
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usiness fraud. 42 In 1825, the Bubb
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Companies Act also reveals providin
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Companies Ordinance 1953 of Sabah a
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In 1977, the Cork Committee was app
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the Committee foresaw difficulty du
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operation and termination of a comp
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enforceability of security interest
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procedure, and dispensed with the o
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The creditors‟ protection princip
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shareholders and on personal bankru
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directors as trustees. 162 Members
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4.3.3 Development of Insolvency Leg
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In Australia, the government respon
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appointment of an administrative re
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the current statutes were not effic
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insist on protection to directors i
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and judgment to run the company. 21
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due to the difficulty in obtaining
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The Australian Law Commission in 19
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instead, enacted section 135 253 in
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4.5 Conclusion Malaysia, New Zealan
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CHAPTER 5: THE THEORY OF THE CORPOR
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needs someone to run it on its beha
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The implication of the decision is
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English decisions as guidance and t
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Shareholders who have to incur high
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interests of shareholders by maximi
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situation, directors have a duty to
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concluded purchasing goods from thi
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stipulates directors “may conside
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subsidiary and may continue to pros
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A holding company may use a subsidi
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section 187 of the Australian Corpo
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its holding company), act in a mann
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is just and equitable, to make an o
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Syndicates (NZ) Limited (in liq) 13
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a) Extent to which the Related Comp
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That the management did not differe
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equirement of insolvency and it doe
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The House of Lords in Woolfson v St
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subsidiary. Abdul Malik J held that
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defendant company. During a meeting
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Uniphoenix Corporation Bhd v Raymon
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justice alone is not sufficient; th
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lenders, employees, suppliers and c
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company and as the residual claiman
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The claim that shareholders‟ righ
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particularly lack of effective mana
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management of the companies. Credit
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players‟ interests intertwine wit
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important for directors to build lo
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Despite having included favourable
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at the intersection of a number of
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Directors must weigh any particular
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Directors will also enlist the serv
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Contractarians regard employees in
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terms to their liking, they either
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to boycott the company. 134 The com
Page 217 and 218: On the other hand, the duty owed to
Page 219 and 220: and experiences in order to dischar
Page 221 and 222: CHAPTER 7: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF
Page 223 and 224: Economists divided real capital whi
Page 225 and 226: the transformation of shares as rea
Page 227 and 228: the company‟s ability to pay its
Page 229 and 230: purchase or will not become insolve
Page 231 and 232: available where special resolution
Page 233 and 234: The idea that maintaining share cap
Page 235 and 236: must be satisfied by the company in
Page 237 and 238: 7.4 Conclusion The doctrine of capi
Page 239 and 240: and once a resolution is passed, to
Page 241 and 242: The term 'insolvency' has also long
Page 243 and 244: equivalent to medical negligence ca
Page 245 and 246: meaning of inability to pay debts.
Page 247 and 248: It is important to distinguish as t
Page 249 and 250: long as the accounts give true and
Page 251 and 252: current assets must be taken stock
Page 253 and 254: cases the presumption of insolvency
Page 255 and 256: It is interesting to note in reachi
Page 257 and 258: CHAPTER 9 THE COMMON LAW DUTIES OF
Page 259 and 260: Voluntary creditors can be divided
Page 261 and 262: are not personally liable for any l
Page 263 and 264: confidence, a trustee who has been
Page 265 and 266: interests of various parties in the
Page 267: overriding duty is to the sharehold
Page 271 and 272: 9.3.3 Duty not to Fetter Discretion
Page 273 and 274: The decisions of the Federal Court
Page 275 and 276: case, directors should disclose the
Page 277 and 278: misconception that the case law and
Page 279 and 280: other reference as to the developme
Page 281 and 282: Australia and Malaysia have express
Page 283 and 284: out “ ...the judgment is in the b
Page 285 and 286: the prospect of success as well as
Page 287 and 288: judge adopted the principle of iden
Page 289 and 290: individual trading through a compan
Page 291 and 292: liability can be imposed on them wh
Page 293 and 294: liquidators when it is insolvent. C
Page 295 and 296: CHAPTER 10 DIRECTORS’ DUTY TO PRE
Page 297 and 298: Malaysia did not make any changes o
Page 299 and 300: interpretation of these provisions.
Page 301 and 302: sum of money that is owed or due.
Page 303 and 304: Hence, action can be brought agains
Page 305 and 306: Directors in Australia can be held
Page 307 and 308: to the director to prove that he or
Page 309 and 310: expect that the company was solvent
Page 311 and 312: In the case of Secretary of State f
Page 313 and 314: trading at a deficit. 64 In other w
Page 315 and 316: maintained in section 213 of the In
Page 317 and 318: not „a party‟ if he knew that m
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econcile the two judgments with one
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carrying it on (whether because of
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10.3.1.3 For any other Fraudulent P
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company. In this aspect, section 21
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to Australia and New Zealand which
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even though it was evident from the
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the steps taken were with the aim o
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decisions. 150 Therefore, directors
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The Law Commission proposed that th
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to reform the law, namely to reduce
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A similar issue was raised in the E
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The decision was later upheld by th
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10.4.3 Duty in relation Obligation
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fraudulent purpose.” 201 Although
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from the carrying on of the busines
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The first civil version of the inso
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amounts. 223 In Hussein v Good, 224
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of law of contract. The court must
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defendant. 244 Therefore, a directo
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additional capital, as well as a re
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trading without any other action ta
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Another defect of the section is in
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argue that there are reasonable gro
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10.6.2 Responsibility for Fraudulen
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Siow Yoon Keong v H Rosen Engineeri
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The courts have acknowledged that t
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The defendant in the case relying o
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To date, there have been few cases
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ability of the company to pay off i
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can be disqualified from taking par
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power to do so is an archaic equita
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is for a short period of time. This
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ights against the company are froze
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involves a situation where the comp
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11.2.3 Winding-up Liquidation is a
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11.2.3.1 Effects of Successful Avoi
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transactions, 59 the provisions cle
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11.2.3.1.2 Recovery from Third Part
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ecover the proceeds of sale or to p
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order. 83 If the value of the asset
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Without this class action, the unse
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the power to apply for a compensati
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defraud, which implies their culpab
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also be enforced by the company. 11
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The court has the power if it think
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contravention or pecuniary penalty
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discretion to order the director‘
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Marketing Consortium (No 2) 147 cle
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discovered that the director had en
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compensatory. 163 Damages are asses
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of causation similar to torts in as
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ecause the court considered that it
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It should be noted that Re Cyona Di
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11.3.7.2.3 Duration The court also
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contribution order is made to the
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This is similar to the case of frau
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company is using funds belonging to
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Since section 304(1) originates fro
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11.3.8.2 Problems of Enforcement/Pr
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However, extracting promise of inde
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In relation to an action against a
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Investments Commission is entitled
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The position in Australia has clear
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Disqualification on the grounds of
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As a result of the recommendations
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exercised by the Registrar or the O
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actions which are committed with a
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The court has to deduce evidence of
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11.4.2.1 Standard of Proof Disquali
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11.4.2.2 Court’s Order Section 6
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of disqualification. 322 However, t
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mitigating factors considered by th
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11.5 Other Remedies 11.5.1 Mareva I
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for under the Act. 348 The action p
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of trust or breach of duty in relat
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CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMEND
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The separate legal personality conc
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deemed to be an alien concept to Br
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positive action to minimize losses
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insolvent. In Malaysia, there is no
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BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS and ARTICLES AHM
Page 481 and 482:
BENNETT, Howard, 'Late Floating Cha
Page 483 and 484:
COBURN, Niall F, 'Insolvent Trading
Page 485 and 486:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=988944 at
Page 487 and 488:
FISHER, Gregory, LEE , Janet and JO
Page 489 and 490:
GUNASEKARA, Gehan and TOY, Alan, 'L
Page 491 and 492:
HOPT, Klaus J., 'Comparative Compan
Page 493 and 494:
KEAY, Andrew and Murray, Michael, '
Page 495 and 496:
McCHESNEY, Fred S., 'Economics, Law
Page 497 and 498:
OTTOLENGHI, S, 'From Peeping Behind
Page 499 and 500:
ROSS, Mike, Corporate Reconstructio
Page 501 and 502:
SCHWARTZ, Alan, ‗A Normative Theo
Page 503 and 504:
WALTERS, Adrian, 'Void Dispositions
Page 505 and 506:
WORTHINGTON, Sarah, 'Subrogation Cl
Page 507 and 508:
REPLIES TO EXAMINERS APPENDIX 1 Pag
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Page 220-it is asserted that direct
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What are the criteria for determini
Page 513 and 514:
addition it provides incentive for
Page 515 and 516:
See also Secretary of State for Tra
Page 517 and 518:
Most jurisdictions in Australia hav
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