Minors in corporate roles

It is universal that juveniles are protected by law due to their immaturity, innocence, and inexperience. However, the extent to the minor’s ineligibility to enter valid transactions in business areas differs from country to country. One of the most complicated contracts is the type of contract relating to the corporation, which is further governed by corporate laws and involves many parties, such as partners as the co-investors, or shareholders as the beneficiaries. Problems are incurred once the minors without legal capacity engage in the corporation to operate the business with other parties. On the one hand, they might not precisely comprehend the contracts they engage in and can be disadvantageous in commerce. On the other hand, business transactions can be undermined and suffer from minors’ fragmented contracts due to the legal effect of voidable acts. The problem of the study covers the areas of law on capacity, family, and corporation that the application of the laws is still inconsistent and adversely affects all contractual parties. The comparative analysis from the model countries, namely Germany, the UK, Singapore, and France, is the primary contribution to observe the improvement of the Thai laws. Some countries completely preclude minors from the corporation. The others provide the proper conditions, such as minimum age requirements or judicial approval. The proposed solutions will eliminate legal uncertainties in business while maintaining minor safeguards for performing corporate roles.

鉴于未成年人因心智尚未成熟、天性纯真且缺乏社会经验而受法律保护，这是全球通行的普遍准则。然而，不同国家对于未成年人在商事领域不得订立有效交易合同的具体范围，却存在显著差异。其中最为复杂的合同类型之一，便是与公司（corporation）相关的合同：此类合同受公司法规范，且涉及多方主体，例如作为共同投资人的合伙人，抑或是作为受益人的股东。一旦无法律行为能力（legal capacity）的未成年人参与公司经营并与其他主体开展商事活动，便会引发诸多法律纠纷。一方面，未成年人可能无法准确理解其所参与的合同条款，在商事活动中处于不利地位；另一方面，由于未成年人实施的法律行为存在可撤销的法律效力，其零散订立的合同可能破坏商事交易的稳定性。本研究的探讨范围涵盖法律行为能力、家庭法与公司法领域，当前这些领域的法律适用标准仍存在不一致，对所有合同当事人均造成不利影响。本次研究的主要贡献在于，通过对德国、英国、新加坡及法国这四个典型国家的比较分析，为审视泰国相关法律的完善路径提供参考。部分国家完全禁止未成年人参与公司经营，而另一些国家则设置了相应的条件，例如最低年龄要求或司法审批程序。本研究提出的解决方案，将在保障未成年人合法权益的前提下，消除商事活动中的法律不确定性，同时为未成年人担任公司角色提供合规路径。