The Legal Status of Partners in a Private Limited Liability Company Compared to the Legal Status of Partners (shareholders) in a Joint Stock Company

This diploma thesis poses the question of the legal status of partners in a private limited liability company compared to the legal status of partners (shareholders) in a joint stock company. Although both companies are in a theory of Czech business law classified as capital corporations, which means that they have much in common, the legal enactments which are regulating the area of the partner's legal status in both legal forms contain many significant differences. Some of them may well be considered as slight, unimportant details, whereas the others represent fundamental differences, which, for the partner's legal status, are more than crucial. The partner's participation in the company's activities and in its management could be mentioned as one of the examples. Meanwhile, the partners in a private limited liability company typically participate in the whole life of their corporation, the shareholders in a joint stock company only influence the life of their corporation implicitly, through their influence over the personal structure of the executive body (called board of directors), which is entrusted with the power of the company's management. The members of this executive body are usually represented by people outside of the company; the theory talks about professional, hired management, which is leading to a phenomenon called corporate governance. This diploma thesis not only contains chapters on the legal status of partners in the given types of corporations, it also includes a general interpretation of the terms private limited liability company and joint stock company. Only a correct representation of these terms can lead to an accurate understanding of the partner's legal status. Finally, there are also several comparative thoughts and tables, including some decisions of the business courts added at the end of the paper. Through the means of the above mentioned business court's decisions the author is attempting to demonstrate how the partner's rights and obligations are being performed in practice