The model of a limited liability company (GmbH) was created by German jurists in 1892 and quickly became one of the most popular forms of conducting business around the world. Although this model has been operating in a slightly changed form for more than 130 years, it still raises numerous questions and controversies. The rights of shareholders have proved to be a particularly important issue in this regard. Although the chapters of this book, focusing only on selected issues, do not exhaust the broad subject of shareholders\' rights in a limited liability company, they constitute an interesting study of the problems currently discussed in the practice and theory of German (chapter 1), Austrian (chapter 2) and Polish law (chapters 3–7), framed in the European context.

This book is the result of the cooperation of academics from the University of Regensburg (Germany), the University of Vienna (Austria) and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Poland), including young researchers from Academia Rerum Socialium (Doctoral School of Social Sciences).