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The right of a company participant to obtain information about its activities is subject to a broad interpretation and covers access to any documents containing information about the company’s activities and falling within the categories of documents defined by Article 43 of the Law of Ukraine “On Limited and Additional Liability Companies”, regardless of their title or express mention in that article, provided that such documents do not constitute restricted-access information. The presence of personal data in such documents is not a ground for refusing to provide them; the company must ensure a balance between the participant’s corporate right and the protection of personal data by means of anonymisation. At the same time, a participant’s right to obtain information does not cover a demand for access to the company’s accounting database.
This conclusion was reached by the Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court.
A participant in an LLC holding 10.55 % of the authorised capital applied to the company with a request for a wide range of documents and information concerning its activities, including financial statements, contracts, bank statements, information about property, corporate decisions, court cases and other documents. After the company failed to provide the requested information, the participant brought an action before the court.
The commercial court partially granted the claim and ordered the company to provide the requested documents, refusing only the demand for access to the company’s accounting database. The appellate court left that decision unchanged.
Reviewing the case, the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court noted that a participant’s right to receive information about the company’s activities is one of the fundamental corporate rights necessary for participation in the management of the company. The list of documents defined by Article 43 of the Law of Ukraine “On Limited and Additional Liability Companies” is not exhaustive, since it contains both specific types of documents and generalised categories, in particular accounting documents, reporting documents and other documents provided for by legislation or the company’s charter.
The Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court emphasised that, when deciding on a participant’s right to obtain a particular document, the determining factor is not its literal title but whether it contains information about the company’s activities and whether it falls within the categories of documents provided for by law. It is for this reason that a participant’s right is subject to a broad interpretation and covers the possibility of examining any documents that relate to the company’s activities.
The Supreme Court rejected the appellant’s arguments concerning the presence of personal data in the documents. The Court noted that the presence of personal data does not relieve the company of its obligation to provide the documents to its participant. In order to ensure a balance between the participant’s corporate rights and the right to the protection of personal data, the company may provide copies of the documents with the anonymisation of excess personal data that are not necessary for the exercise of the participant’s right to obtain information.
The Supreme Court also agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts that access to the company’s accounting database is not a means of exercising the right to obtain information provided for by Article 43 of the Law of Ukraine “On Limited and Additional Liability Companies”, and that the claim in this part was therefore rightly left unsatisfied.
Following consideration of the case, the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court left the company’s cassation appeal unsatisfied and the decisions of the courts of first instance and of appeal unchanged.
Resolution of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court of 24 June 2026 in case No. 907/1038/25 – https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/137764259.
This and other legal opinions of the Supreme Court are available in the Database of Legal Positions of the Supreme Court - https://lpd.court.gov.ua.
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