Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions

Transcript:

Hello!

When companies hold general meetings, they pass resolutions (approvare delibere). Remember, companies can hold two types of general meetings: The Annual General Meeting once a year, while any other general meeting for urgent business is called an Extraordinary General Meeting (See Peter’s Pills 29). There can be two types of resolutions passed at any general meeting: ordinary resolutions or special resolutions.

Ordinary resolutions are resolutions which are passed for the ordinary course of business of the company. They require a simple majority vote to be passed which means 50% of the votes plus at least one more valid vote. Ordinary resolutions are used where the directors have no authority to make certain decisions and where shareholders are called to vote.

Ordinary resolutions are often used to pass motions to:

• Pay dividends;
• Appoint and remove directors;
• Approve directors’ service contracts;
• Allot (assegnare) new shares.

Special resolutions on the other hand require at least a 75% majority vote to be passed and signal a significant change to a company. Special resolutions are needed when the company’s articles of association (statuto) require a special resolution to pass certain motions or when voting on motions in which the UK Companies Act 2006 requires a special resolution.

More specifically, Companies Act 2006 requires a special resolution to:

• Change the company’s name;
• Amend the articles of association (statuto);
• Reduce the company’s share capital;
• Disapply shareholder pre-emption rights (disapplicare i diritti di prelazione);
• Change the company’s status – from Plc to Ltd or viceversa, etc.;
• Voluntarily wind up the company (mettere in liquidazione volontaria).

Thank you very much and see you next time for more Peter’s Pills to improve your Legal English!

See more about resolutions and meetings in the UK Company’s Act 2006

Legal English – Sommario delle Lezioni

• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 39 – When is Latin hot, and when is it not?
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 38 – Default
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 37 – Company Agent
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 36 – Injunction (false freind)
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 35 – Mortgage
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 34 – Freehold, Leasehold and Commonhold estates
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 33 – Transferor, Transferee and Transmittee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 32 – Tax evasion, tax mitigation and tax avoidance
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 31 – Numbers
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 30 – Ordinary resolutions vs special resolutions
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 29 – AGM vs EGM
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 28 – A going concern
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 27 – Collocations: Violate, breach, break, disobey and infringe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 26 – Company meeting words
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 25 – Mortgagor vs Mortgagee
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 24 – Fixed charges vs Floating charges
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 23 – Doctrine
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 22 – Construe
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 21 – Sign vs Execute
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 20 – The closing statement
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 19 – Writing Business Emails
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 18 – Limited companies
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 17 – Annual Accounts
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 16 – Meetings
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 15 – Attorney-at-law vs Attorney-in-fact
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 14 – Here and there compounds
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 13 – Subject Matter
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 12 – The clear days rule
• Legal English – Peter’s Pills – Lesson 11 – Shareholder, Member or Holder of shares?
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 10 – Competition Law
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 9 – Lasting Power of Attorney
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 8 – Guardianship
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 7 – Damage vs Damages
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 6 – Legal Doublets
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 5 – Escrow
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 4 – Memorandum of Association vs Articles of Association
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 3 – Sign legibly
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 2 – Deed poll
• Legal English: Peter’s Pills – Lesson 1 – Party, counterparty and counterpart

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Peter Liebenberg

Peter Liebenberg è uno specialista nella formazione delle persone nella conoscenza della lingua inglese. Ha creato molti corsi nel campo dell’inglese per professionisti, tra cui English for banking, English for business e English for Insurance, ma ha sempre avuto un debole per l’inglese legale. Altri corsi che ha creato comprendono Phrasal Verbs I e II. Quando Peter non fa formazione, corre a Parco Sempione, crea arte nel suo studio sulla Martesana e fa volontariato.