Joint Stock Companies Act 1844

Joint Stock Companies Act 1844

The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. "c."110) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that expanded access to the incorporation of joint-stock companies in the UK.

Before the Act, incorporation was only possible by Royal charter or private act, and was limited owing to Parliament's jealous protection of the privileges and advantages thereby granted. As a result, many businesses came to be operated as unincorporated associations with possibly thousands of members. Any consequent litigation had to be carried out in the joint names of all the members and was impossibly cumbersome. Though Parliament would sometimes grant a private act to allow an individual to represent the whole in legal proceedings, this was a narrow and necessarily costly expedient only allowed to established companies.

The 1844 Act created a Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, empowered to register companies by a two-stage process. The first, provisional, stage cost £5 and did not confer corporate status which arose after the completing the second stage for another £5. [Mayson "et al." (2005) p. 6.]

However, there was still no limited liability and company members could still be held responsible for unlimited losses by the company. ["Re Sea Fire and Life Assurance Co., Greenwood's Case" (1854) 3 De GM&G 459] Limited liability was subsequently introduced by the Limited Liability Act 1855. The system of registration was revised by the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 which introduced the system largely still in operation as of 2006. The aim of the act was to place business and economy on a surer foundation, and to increase public confidence in the honesty of business.

ee also

*Utopia Limited

Notes

Bibliography

*cite book | author=Harris, R. | title=Industrialising English Law: Entrepreneurship and Business Organisation, 1720–1844 | location=Cambridge, UK | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-521-66275-3
*cite book | author=Hunt, B.C. | title=The Development of the Business Corporation in England, 1800–1867 | location=Cambridge, MA | publisher=Harvard University Press | year=1936
*cite book | author=Mayson, S.W "et al." | year=2005 | title=Mayson, French & Ryan on Company Law | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=London | id=ISBN 0-19-928531-4


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 — Parliament of the United Kingdom Statute book chapter 19 20 Vict. c.47 Introduced by Robert Lowe …   Wikipedia

  • Companies Act — (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and South Africa relating to company law. The Bill for an Act with this short title will have been known as a Companies Bill during its passage through… …   Wikipedia

  • Joint stock company — A joint stock company (JSC) is a type of business entity: it is a type of corporation or partnership. Certificates of ownership or stocks are issued by the company in return for each contribution, and the shareholders are free to transfer their… …   Wikipedia

  • Joint-stock company — A joint stock company (JSC) is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company. Certificates of ownership ( shares ) are issued by the company in return for each financial… …   Wikipedia

  • History of companies — An allegory of tulip mania by Hendrik Gerritsz Pot, circa 1640. Flora, the goddess of flowers, is blown by the wind and rides with a tippler, money changers, and a two faced woman. They are followed by dissolute Haarlem weavers, on their way to… …   Wikipedia

  • Limited Liability Act 1855 — For the history of introduction of the Act and early experience with its application, see: . The Limited Liability Act 1855 (18 19 Vict. c133) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that first allowed limited liability for… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament, 1840-1859 — This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840 1859. For acts passed prior to 1707 see List of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament and List of Acts of Parliament of the Scottish… …   Wikipedia

  • United Kingdom company law — Beside the River Thames, the City of London is a global financial centre. Within the Square Mile, the London Stock Exchange lies at the heart of the United Kingdom s corporations. United Kingdom company law is the body of rules that concern… …   Wikipedia

  • Corporate law — (also company or corporations law) is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another under the internal rules of the firm.… …   Wikipedia

  • limited liability — a liability restricted by law or contract, as the liability of owners of shares in a corporation or limited company, or that of a special partner. [1850 55] * * * Condition under which the loss that an owner (shareholder) of a business may incur… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”