FE-1 Company Law study guide
FE-1 Company Law · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
FE-1 Company Law is the company law sitting within the FE-1 stage of the Law Society of Ireland's solicitor qualification pathway. The FE-1 examinations are the first set of professional entrance exams that a candidate must clear before progressing to the Professional Practice Course (PPC) at the Law Society's Law School, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. This page is an independent study resource for candidates preparing that company law paper; it is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Law Society of Ireland. The subject matter is Irish company law as it applies in practice: how companies are formed and their constitution, corporate capacity and authority, shares and capital maintenance, directors' duties and corporate governance, members' rights and meetings, minority protection and remedies, charges and debentures, receivership and examinership, winding up and strike-off. Candidates should expect problem-based questions requiring application of rules to facts rather than pure recall. Preparation should begin with the governing Irish companies legislation and the Law Society's published FE-1 syllabus and past-paper style materials, then move to structured notes per topic, timed written answers, and review against marking schemes. Topics on this exam: Company Law. The FE-1 Company Law study guide has 1 section and about 412 words.
01Company Law
The FE-1 Company Law domain examines Irish company law under the Companies Act 2014: incorporation, separate legal personality, company types, the constitution, directors’ duties, minority protection, charges and insolvency. Questions reward precise statutory and case-law anchors, not general business knowledge. Incorporation and personality: On registration with the CRO, a company becomes a body corporate with separate legal personality ( Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd [1897] AC 22). Shareholders’ liability is limited to unpaid share capital; directors and third parties may still be liable for their own acts.
412 words, about 2 minMore study resources for FE-1 Company Law
- Practice questionsUnder the Companies Act 2006, what is the minimum number of subscribers required to form a private limited company?
- FlashcardsSeparate legal personality. The principle that a company is a legal person distinct from its shareholders, directors and promoters, so it owns property, contracts and sues in its own name, and members' liability is limited as the constitution provides.
- Cheat sheetSeparate legal personality: a company incorporated under the Companies Act is a body corporate distinct from its members, officers and promoters; it owns property, contracts and sues in its own name, and liability of members is limited to any amount unpaid on their shares (or the guarantee).
- Key termsSeparate legal personality. The principle that a registered company is a legal person distinct from its shareholders, directors, and officers, so it owns property, contracts, and sues or is sued in its own name.
- Study planMap the Companies Act structure: incorporation, corporate personality, constitution and capacity, then rank the five highest-weight topics by past-paper frequency.
- Common mistakesCandidates learn Salomon v Salomon as a slogan ('separate legal personality') but never internalise its consequences for property, contracts, and liability, so they flip between entity and aggregate theories under exam pressure.
- Exam-day guidePrint or download the booking confirmation you received when scheduling the FE-1 sitting.