Duties of the company chairman

Abstract

The position of the company chairman has, in recent years, acquired considerable signifi cance. This note considers the duties of the chairman and whether higher standards may in future be imposed on this offi cer than on other directors when his or her duties to the company come under scrutiny. The focus is on the position in South Africa, and references to the Companies Act are to the South African Companies Act 61 of 1973, unless otherwise indicated. Developments in Australian and English law are also considered since these three systems share the same basis and similar principles govern the position of the chairman of the board. I have used the term ‘chairman’ as an indication of the offi ce of the individual who heads a company’s board of directors, rather than ‘chairperson’ which has, in an attempt to be gender neutral, become fairly common.