CHINA: An Introduction to Corporate/Commercial: Sichuan: Contentious (PRC Firms)
Corporate Litigation in China in 2024
On 1 July 2024, the newly amended Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “new Company Law”) came into force, and its amendments have had a profound impact on the judicial practice of corporate commercial litigation. Based on judicial developments in the field of corporate commercial litigation in China in 2024, this article systematically compiles the characteristics of company-type dispute cases in 2024, analyses the impact of the new company law and its supporting system on corporate commercial litigation, aiming to provide market players with preliminary guidance for anticipating dispute risks and optimising compliance strategies.
Status of corporate/commercial litigation in China in 2024
According to the public data of China Judgments Online, as of 31 December 2024, a total of 10,538 civil judgments on company-related disputes were obtained in 2024 by searching using the terms “subject matter: disputes relating to companies”, “type of case: civil cases”, “type of instrument: judgment”, and “Year of judgment: 2024. Within the Third-tier causes of actions pertaining to corporate disputes, the top cases were disputes over equity transfer (2,801 cases, accounting for 26.58%), disputes over shareholders’ liability for damaging the interests of company creditors (1,742 cases, accounting for 16.53%), disputes over requests for change of company registration (1,052 cases, accounting for 9.98%), disputes over shareholders’ capital contribution (953 cases, accounting for 9.04%), disputes over shareholders’ right to know (655 cases, accounting for 6.22%) and disputes over confirmation of shareholders’ qualifications (645 cases, accounting for 6.12%). In terms of the distribution of cases at the Third-tier causes of action under the PRC judicial classification system, the types of disputes showed a significant concentration trend, with the above six types of cases accounting for 74.47% of the total, constituting the core dispute areas of corporate disputes. Among them, equity transfer disputes, as a typical company-type dispute, still account for a high proportion of cases, and the other five types of dispute also showed obvious uniform distribution characteristics.
Impact of the new Company Law on corporate commercial litigation
Compared with the data from 2023, the proportion and ranking of the above six major causes of action in 2024 were relatively stable, but the implementation of the new Company Law has also triggered some changes. The new Company Law systematically strengthens the liability of company shareholders and creditor protection mechanisms. According to the data of China Judgments Online in 2024, the percentage of cases of disputes over the liability of shareholders for harming the interests of company creditors increased by 2.4% year-on-year, shareholders’ capital contribution disputes increased by 1.8%, and shareholders’ qualification confirmation disputes increased by 0.99%. Meanwhile, the new Company Law responded to the needs of commercial activities and further clarified and strengthened the requirements and safeguards related to company registration, which drove the proportion of dispute cases requesting changes in company registration up by 2.71%. In addition, the new Company Law focuses on strengthening the responsibilities of controlling shareholders, de facto controllers and directors and supervisors, and optimising internal corporate governance, foreshadowing that disputes centred on internal corporate governance will gradually become a new growth point in commercial litigation. At the same time, since the new judicial interpretation has not yet been issued, the perception of the content of the new law is also by all involved parties is also yet to be unified, and new types of corporate disputes may arise in practice.
Status of application of the new Company Law
Normative path of convergence between old and new laws
The issue of the retroactive effect of the new Company Law is a central point of contention in its application. On 24 June 2024, in order to guarantee a smooth transition to the new Company Law, the Supreme People’s Court issued the “Certain Provisions on the Temporal Effect of the Application of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China” (the “Provisions”), which made specific provisions on how to make good the convergence of the old and the new laws. On 22 December 2024, due to the uncertainty of the current judicial interpretation on the application of some provisions of the New Company Law, the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress reviewed Article 88 of the new Company Law in its “Report on the Status of the Filing Review Work in 2024”. The Commission concluded that Article 88 did not qualify for the exception to the non-retroactivity of the law provided in Article 104 of the Legislation Law of the People’s Republic of China, which stipulates that there must be “special provisions made for the purpose of better protecting the rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organisations”. Therefore, Article 104 should be strictly adhered to. The Commission also indicated that it would urge the relevant authorities responsible for the formulation of the judicial interpretation to take appropriate measures to deal with it appropriately. On 24 December 2024, the Supreme People’s Court adopted the Approval Reply on the Non-retroactive Application of Paragraph 1 of Article 88 of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, further clarifying the application of Paragraph 1 of Article 88 of the new Company Law.
Construction of supporting systems
Following the promulgation of the new Company Law, the relevant supporting implementation system has been anticipated by the public. On 1 July 2024, the “Provisions of the State Council on the Implementation of the Administration System for the Registration of Registered Capital of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China” came into effect in tandem with the new Company Law, clarifying the transitional arrangements for the adjustment of the capital contribution period of existing companies and the handling of abnormal capital contributions.
On 20 December 2024, the State Administration of Market Supervision (SAAMS) issued the “Implementing Measures for the Administration of Company Registration”, which focus on the regulation of company registration and make detailed provisions on the registration systems for the registered capital of companies and corporate governance, regulate the details of company registration, further consolidate the institutional foundation for the implementation of the newly amended Company Law, and help to resolve company registration disputes.
Outlook
This revision is the most significant since the original release of the Company Law, compared with previous revisions of the Company Law, this revision deals with controversial issues and changes, responds to the outstanding problems in the application of the previous law, improves and innovates where the existing system had shortcomings, adapts to the requirements of a new economic and social situation, and improves both corporate governance and the rule of law in the business environment. However, a single revision of the law cannot solve all problems in business practice, and the controversial issues faced by the new Company Law in its application have yet to be explored in the judicial thinking and consensus reached by all sectors of society. All sectors also urgently need the introduction of judicial interpretations and ancillary systems. In the future, following the introduction of administrative regulations and guidelines closely related to the new Company Law, it is expected to play a more effective role in optimising the allocation of resources and promoting the high-quality development of the economy, and to inject new vitality into the process of the rule of law in China’s market economy.
2024年中国公司商事诉讼概述
2024年7月1日，新修订的《中华人民共和国公司法》正式施行，其修订内容对公司商事诉讼的司法实践产生深远影响。本文基于2024年中国公司商事诉讼领域的司法动态，系统梳理2024年公司类纠纷案件特征，分析新公司法及配套制度对公司商事诉讼的影响，旨在为市场主体预判争议风险、优化合规策略提供初步指引。
2024年我国公司/商事诉讼的现状
根据中国裁判文书网公开数据显示，截至2024年12月31日，以“案由：与公司有关的纠纷”“案件类型：民事案件”“文书类型：判决书”“裁判年份：2024年”为检索条件，共获得2024年度公司类纠纷民事判决书10538份。在公司类纠纷三级案由项下，判决书数量占比前列的案由分别为股权转让纠纷（2801件，占比26.58%）、股东损害公司债权人利益责任纠纷(1742件，占比16.53%)、请求变更公司登记纠纷（1052件，占比9.98%）、股东出资纠纷（953件，占比9.04%）、股东知情权纠纷（655件，占比6.22%）及股东资格确认纠纷（645件，占比6.12%）。从三级案由分布来看，纠纷类型呈现显著集中态势，以上六类案由合计占比达74.47%，构成公司类纠纷的核心争议领域。其中，股权转让纠纷作为典型的公司类纠纷，案件占比仍稳居高位，其他五类纠纷案由也呈现明显的均匀分布特征。
新公司法对公司商事诉讼的影响
2024年度公司类纠纷情况与2023年的数据相比，以上六类主要案由数量占比和排名仍然相对稳定，但新公司法的施行也引发了一些变化。新公司法通过增设注册资本认缴期限、股东催缴失权等制度，系统性强化了公司股东责任与债权人保护机制。2024年裁判文书网数据显示，股东损害公司债权人利益责任纠纷案件占比同比上升2.4%，股东出资纠纷案件占比上升1.8%，股东资格确认纠纷案件占比上升0.99%。同时，新公司法响应商业活动需求，进一步明确和加强了公司登记的相关要求和保障，推动请求变更公司登记纠纷案件占比上升2.71%。此外，新公司法重点强化控股股东、实际控制人和董监高责任，优化公司内部治理，预示着以公司内部治理为核心的争议将逐步成为商事诉讼新的增长点。同时，由于新的司法解释尚未出台，各方对新法内容的理解也有待统一，实务中还可能产生新型的公司类纠纷争议问题。
新公司法适用现状
新旧法律衔接的规范路径
新公司法的溯及力问题系法律适用的核心争议焦点。2024年6月24日，为保障新公司法顺利过渡，最高人民法院出台《关于适用〈中华人民共和国公司法〉时间效力的若干规定》（以下简称《规定》），就如何做好新旧法律衔接适用作出具体规定。2024年12月22日，因目前司法解释对新公司法部分条款的适用意见不明确，全国人大常委会法工委在《关于2024年备案审查工作情况的报告》对新公司法第八十八条进行审查，认为该条不存在《中华人民共和国立法法》第一百零四条规定“为了更好地保护公民、法人和其他组织的权利和利益而作的特别规定”之法不溯及既往的例外情形，故应严格遵循“法不溯及既往”原则，并表示将督促司法解释制定机关采取适当措施予以妥善处理。2024年12月24日，最高人民法院通过《关于〈中华人民共和国公司法〉第八十八条第一款不溯及适用的批复》，进一步明确新公司法第八十八条第一款的适用。
配套制度的构建
新公司法颁布后，相关配套实施制度一直为大众所期待。2024年7月1日，《国务院关于实施〈中华人民共和国公司法〉注册资本登记管理制度的规定》与新公司法同步生效，明确了存量公司出资期限调整的过渡期安排、出资异常的处理。2024年12月20日，国家市场监管总局发布的《公司登记管理实施办法》聚焦公司登记规范，对公司注册资本登记制度、公司治理相关登记制度等作细化规定，规范公司登记细节，进一步夯实新修订的公司法实施的制度基础，有助于解决公司登记类纠纷。
展望
本次修订是自公司法发布以来规模最大的一次修订，相较于此前公司法的多次修订，本次修订涉及的争议问题多、修改变化大，回应了此前法律适用过程中的突出问题，针对现有制度的短板作出完善与创新，适应了经济社会发展的新形势新要求，有利于改善公司治理规则、提升法治化营商环境。然而，一次法律修订不可能解决商业实践中的所有问题，且新公司法在法律适用中面临的争议问题，还有待于裁判思路的探索以及社会各界形成共识，各界也亟待司法解释及配套制度的出台。未来，随着与公司法紧密相关的行政规章、指导意见的出台，新公司法有望在优化资源配置、推动经济高质量发展中发挥更长效的治理动能，为我国市场经济法治化进程注入新活力。