Corporations

Part 1 Corporations

June 2011

75.2 Types of Corporation

There are two types of corporation, a corporation sole and a corporation aggregate.

75.3 Corporation sole

A corporation sole is an individual person who represents an official position which has a single separate legal entity. The death of the individual will not affect the corporation as there is a right of succession. The Crown, bishops, deans, vicars and the Lord Mayor of London are examples of a corporation sole. A corporation sole can only be created by statute.

75.4 Corporation aggregate

A corporation aggregate is a separate legal entity formed by several individual persons. The corporate aggregate has an existence which is separate from the persons comprising it. There are three types of corporation aggregate: chartered, statutory and registered.

75.5 Chartered corporation aggregate

The Crown can create a corporation aggregate by granting a Royal Charter. The majority of corporations created by the Crown have the word “chartered” in their title, for example Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Chartered Insurance Institute. However not all corporations granted a Royal Charter have the word Chartered in the title, for example the British Broadcasting Corporation.

75.6 Statutory corporation aggregate

A statutory corporation aggregate may only be created by Parliament using a specific piece of legislation for that purpose. For example the Iron and Steel Act 1967 which created British Steel.

75.7 Registered corporation aggregate

The most common corporate aggregate is the registered company. In part 2 we see how the legal idea of a registered company developed historically. Currently a registered company is formed under the Companies Act 2006 and is regulated by the CA 2006, the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004 and the remaining provisions of the Companies Act 1985 and Companies Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1985.

 

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