PARTICIPACIÓN CUALIFICADA EN EL CAPITAL SOCIAL Y DERECHO DE INFORMACIÓN DE LOS ACCIONISTAS.

Abstract

The article uses the Supreme Court's most recent sentence as a springboard to discuss the issue of the contents and limits of corporate shareholders' right to information, paying particular attention to qualified shareholdings (25% or more of a company's share capital) and the connection between this right and the company administrators' simultaneous duty under law to keep confidential information that may harm the company's interests secret. As the defenders of the company's interests, administrators may turn down requests for information if they feel that divulging or disclosing certain information may somehow hurt the company. Hence, when the shareholder requesting the information has holdings in a competitor, that circumstance is generally regarded as a sign of potential injury to the company. However, the power to refuse to facilitate information should never be used against a shareholder who represents 25% of the share capital; in that case, the only limits applicable are the general limits set by good faith and against the abuse of rights.