本文乃討論有關特別股之權利義務關係。雖然特別股展現出一種公司財務之樣態，然而，卻於其名義上之特性及實際運用間，存在些許矛盾。從純粹法律觀點而言，特別股係一種所有者之型態，因此，亦具有一種類似於普通股之類型。並不相似於公司債，特別股並未享有針對原始投資之預先承諾之回饋；基本上，它被作為股東而考慮，它必須被認係為公司存績之永久投資。因此，吾人得將特別股之特別個性，認係依附於與普通股之關係上。 　　本文將就美國模範商法典與德拉瓦州公司法作一比較。並觀察研究判例上對於特別股權益爭執之見解。當某家公司發行特別股時，理所當然，她將視公司法之條文，為其買賣特別股之契約內容。她亦可能加入其他利處，作為發行之條件。因此，當討論到特別股之權利及義務時，必須思考任何條件之意義，例如：「非累積型特別股」或「表決權限制」等等。 　　最後，本文將試著比較日本商法有關股份有限公司對於發行特別股之規定。不像美國般，日本係一採取成文法之國家，與我國情形相似。本文將觀察討論日本商法之規定，以期發現我國公司法關於發行特別股之缺點及優點。

　　The article begins with the rights and responsibilities of the preferred stock. Although the preferred stock represents a type of corporate finance, it is somewhat contradictory between its nominal characteristic and its practical application. From the purely legal point of view the preferred stock is a type of ownership and thus means a classification similar to that of the common stock. And the preferred stock is not like the corporate bonds, the preferred stock does not contain any promise of repayment of original invetment; and as far as the shareholders are concerned, this must be considered as a permanent investment for the life of the company. Thus, we can think the special character of the preferred stock lies in its adherence to the common stock. 　　Compared with the MBCA and DELAWARE CORPORATION LAWS, we also learn the arguments of the cases relating to the rights of the preferred stock. When a company issues the preferred stock, of course, she regards the provisions of the corporation law as contents of the contract, and she also considers other merits as the issuing conditions. So, when we discuss the rights and responsibilities of the preferred stock, we have to think the meaning of any conditions, for example, “Non-cumulative Preferred” or “Voting Control" and so on. 　　Finally, we try to compare it with Japanese Commercial Law. Unlike U.S., Japan is a country adopting statutory law which shows the same situation as Taiwan. We want to research the Japanese Commercial Law with a view to finding out the defects and merits of our company law.