美国社会企业法律形式的设立与启示

The Establishment of Social Enterprise Legal Forms in the United States and Its Enlightenment

社会企业是同时兼顾社会目标和利润目标的一种组织类型,美国越来越多的商业企业在向社会企业进行转变。在美国各州原有的公司法律框架中,公司董事必须以实现股东利益最大化为目标,而不能以社会使命为首要目标;在非营利法律框架下,机构不能分配利润和进行过多的商业活动;调整公司法律框架和承认社会企业的法律地位,成为美国各州立法或法律修订的一个重要趋势。低利润有限责任公司、共益公司、弹性目标公司、社会目的公司等四种社会企业法律形式的设立,解决了限制社会企业发展的制度障碍,完善了原有的公司法律框架。

Social enterprises are a type of organizations that seek to fulfil both social and profit goals. More and more business enterprises are in the transition to social enterprises in the United States. Under the company＇s legal framework in every state of the USA, the board directors are required to achieve the goal of maximizing the profit of shareholders, instead of having the social mission as the primary goal. Under the legal framework of nonprofit organizations,they can＇t dis- tribute profit and develop too much commercial activities. It has become an important trend in state legislation and law revision in the USA to adjust the legal framework of corporation and to set up legal forms for social enterprises. The establishment of such social enterprise legal forms as low-profit limited liability company, benefit corporation, flexible purpose corporation and social purpose corporation solves the legal problems that restrict the development of social enterprises and perfects the original legal framework of corporation.