(2) The Register of Shareholders and the Register of Substantial Shareholders as stated in section 129;
(3) A document in the possession of the company, as stated in section 185;
(4) Articles of Association and Financial Statements as stated in Section 187;
(5) Any document that the company must submit under this Law and in accordance with any law to the Registrar of Companies or the Securities Authority, which is available for public review at the Registrar of Companies or the Securities Authority, as the case may be.
- (a) A shareholder is entitled to require the company, stating the purpose of the demand, to review any document in the company's possession in any of the following:
(1) The document relates to an action or transaction that requires the approval of the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of Sections 255 and 268 to 275;
(2) In a private company - if it is necessary for the purpose of making a decision on a matter on the agenda of the company's general meeting.
(b) The Company may refuse a shareholder's request if it believes that the application was submitted in bad faith or that the required documents contain a trade secret or patent, or that the disclosure of the documents may otherwise harm the Company's interests.
Limiting the right to inspect and setting preliminary requirements such as the requirement to specify the purpose of the review as permanent In section 185(a), was criticized, but the restrictions set for the right of shareholders to review remained in place (see Z. Cohen, supra, at p. 56; Corporate Law, Single Company and Cluster Companies, p. 152 - 155 (2014)).
- A shareholder's right to inspect the included documents Section 184 is not subject to any conditions. vs. This is the right to inspect the included documents Section 185 Conditional on the applicant indicating the purpose of the demand. The right to inspect a private company is also subject to the requirement that appears In section 185(a)(2) According to which he must be convinced that the examination is required "[...] for the purpose of making a decision on a matter on the agenda of the company's general meeting". It should also be recalled that a company may refuse to allow the examination of the documents in which the shareholder is entitled to review in accordance with the provisions of the law "[...] If it believes that the application was submitted in bad faith or that the required documents contain a trade secret or a patent, or if the disclosure of the documents may otherwise harm the company's best interests" (Section 185(b)).
- A shareholder also has the right to receive such special information Section 186 of the Companies Law, information regarding remuneration for directors, and in the 187 to the Companies Law, a copy of the company's articles of association and a copy of the financial statements.
- Although the right of the shareholder to inspect according to clauses 184 - 185 limited and reserved, so in certain circumstances he may have a broader right of review. Thus, for example, he states Section 198A The Companies Law has the right of inspecting a shareholder who wishes to submit a request for disclosure of documents before or as part of the filing of a request to certify a derivative claim on behalf of the company. This right to inspect the Company's documents is not limited to the documents specified in the sections 184 - 185 Or to the reservations that are set there. However, the reviewer must meet the requirements of Section 198A In particular, he is required to point out the existence of a preliminary evidentiary basis for the existence of the cause of action for the company, the filing of which he seeks to enforce, and that the claim is in favor of the company (See Civil Appeal Authority 6122/14 Bank Hapoalim in Tax Appeal v. Nesher [Nevo] (6/5/2015); Civil Appeal Authority 8798/18 Tulip Capital Fund v. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in Tax Appeal [Nevo] (22/5/2019); Civil Appeal Authority 8185/18 Shochat v. Aura Investments Ltd., paragraph 8 [Nevo] (26/2/2019); Civil Appeal Authority 8243/21 Ginosar v. Israel Electric Company [Nevo] (16/2/2023)). Also, this kind of request All restrictions from the general law will apply to discovery and examination proceedings of documents, such as claims of confidentiality of documents, "Illegal fishing expedition" and so on (Civil Appeal Authority 2903/13 The above, paragraph 60 [Nevo]; Civil Appeal Authority 3389/12 Anonymous v. Bank Hapoalim in a Tax Appeal [Nevo] (5/8/2012)).
- The case law also made a distinction between a minority company that operates as a kind of partnership with another private company. IIOpening Stimulus 6042/08 Goren N' Grinder [Nevo] (25/9/2008) stated:
It is reasonable to assume that the minority company in question will be conducted with the utmost, if not absolute, transparency vis-à-vis its shareholders.