Resolution of the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine, dated March 21, 2017, case No. 910/12345/16. Available at http://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/65508205

The lower courts ascertained that the plaintiff owns shares of PJSC SIC “Borshchahivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant”. The total amount of the shares is equal to 29,9488 % of the registered capital of PJSC SIC “Borshchahivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant”.

On April 08, 2016 the plaintiff requested PJSC SIC “Borshchahivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant” to provide the plaintiff with: copies of minutes of meetings of the Supervisory Board of the latter held since April 07, 2015 and until the date of providing a response to the request; copies of orders of the General director made since January 01, 2015 and until the date of providing a response to the request; 2015 annual financial statements.

PJSC SIC “Borshchahivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant” provided the plaintiff with all documents mentioned in items 1 and 3, but refused to provide orders of the General director made since January 01, 2015 because they are protected as trade secrets and as confidential information. At the same time PJSC SIC “Borshchahivskiy Chemical Pharmaceutical Plant” provided the plaintiff with 2 orders of the General director.

Article 21 of the Ukrainian law On Information and article 7 of the Ukrainian law On Access to Public Information set forth that confidential information is the information about a natural person, and information to which access is limited by a natural person or a legal entity, except public bodies. Confidential information may be disclosed at discretion of a respective person in keeping with procedures and subject to provisions established by such a person, or in other situations specified by laws.

In view of that the lower courts properly stated that the scope of the information, which was the confidential information, the way it was protected, could be defined at sole discretion of the owner of the information or the director of the company. The respondent had a right to dispose of the information at its discretion and to carry out any act in respect of this information, provided that third parties’ rights were not violated.

Resolution of the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine, dated February 22, 2017, case No. 910/11997/16. Available at http://www.reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/64977256

The plaintiff, being an owner of shares of Alvis LLC amounting to 50% of the registered capital of the latter, requested Alvis LLC to provide the plaintiff with information, namely annual financial statements of Alvis LLC, CIT declarations, contracts, bank account statements, cash control records etc.

The plaintiff stated that he had not been granted access to the requested information and he was not let into the office of Alvis LLC.

The lower courts properly stated that legislation did not oblige a limited liability company to provide in written form (copies of documents) its shareholder with requested by the shareholder information, but only obliged to provide a shareholder with information for its studying in the process of which a shareholder could make extracts, copies, take pictures.

The lower courts ascertained that Alvis LLC had not rejected the plaintiff from accessing to the documents he had requested, and there was no evidence that Alvis LLC had not let the plaintiff into the office, but it had been the plaintiff who had not come to the office at the agreed time.

© Yuriy Karlash, English translation, 2017

© Yuriy Karlash, compilation, 2017