Convocation Of General Meetings and Plenary Meetings Under German Law

Abstract

The convocation of a general meeting (GM) prevents shareholders from being at a disadvantage when exercising their rights. Shareholders are informed in advance of the topics to be discussed at a general meeting, so they know when the meeting will take place and whether they will attend. In most cases, shareholders are not necessarily required to attend a GM because they may not have an interest in the topics that will be discussed there. Nevertheless, a GM must be convoked and an agenda announced in order to be able to make this decision. Some cases do not require applying these procedural rules for convening a GM. In particular, these aforementioned requirements can be waived if all shareholders are present together; in this case, a plenary meeting is held. This can occur when all shareholders are present and none of the shareholders object to the procedures for a plenary meeting. The shareholders that are present can pass resolutions at a plenary meeting as long as all shareholders remain present.

Keywords

• stock corporation
• shareholder
• general meeting
• convocation
• plenary meeting