Piercing the Corporate Veil

Definitions #

A legal doctrine where courts ignore the limited liability of a corporation and hold its shareholders or directors personally liable for corporate debts.

Technical An equitable remedy applied when a corporation is a mere alter ego or a fraud is committed, disregarding the separate personality of the corporation to serve justice.

Example The court applied piercing the corporate veil because the owner used the company as his personal bank account.

Etymology #

From metaphorical veil representing the corporate separate identity; the phrase emerged in English case law in 19th century, formalized in later common law jurisdictions.

Collocations #

alter ego doctrine 公司被视为所有人的工具，是刺破面纱的核心因素
corporate veil 公司法中责任隔离的屏障
veil pierce 法院决定越过有限责任公司独立人格

Real Business Examples #

The shareholder's misuse of company funds justified piercing the corporate veil.
Piercing the corporate veil is an exceptional remedy, not applied lightly by courts.

Register & Variants #

Register: formal
BrE/AmE: 英美法系通用，AmE 更常用

Synonyms & Antonyms #

Synonyms: disregarding separate personality, veil lifting (less common)
Antonyms: corporate limited liability protection

Common Errors #

认为只要公司欠债就能刺破法院通常要求欺诈、不诚实或资本严重不足等极端情形
把刺破面纱与否认公司存在混淆刺破面纱不是解散公司，而是让背后的人负责

Confusable Terms #

Corporate veil vs Piercing the Corporate Veil: 指公司与股东之间的责任隔离，本身不是法律行为
Agency theory vs Piercing the Corporate Veil: 是合同或代理关系，而非责任隔离的例外

Frequently Asked Questions

哪些因素会促使法院刺破？?

常见因素：资本严重不足、未遵守公司形式、财务混同、欺诈

刺破面纱是否适用于全部债务？?

通常针对特定交易中因滥用导致的债务，而非公司所有债务

Published: 2026-09-24 Category: Corporate Law