Commandite

(société en commandité), a form of commercial partnership in capitalist countries.

Members of a commandite are subdivided into two categories: full partners, who bear unrestricted personal liability for the obligations of the partnership, and limited partners, who are liable for the obligations of the partnership within the limits of their contribution, whose size is determined by contract and recorded in a register. Unlike full partners, limited partners do not have a right to manage the affairs of the commandite or to act as its representatives. Commandites appeared in Western Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries; in Great Britain the commandite is represented by one of the forms of partnership with limited liability—limited partnership.

In the current practice of the capitalist states commandite is used to expedite the concentration of capital. The laws of the capitalist states provide for mandatory regulation only of those liabilities of the commandite that involve third parties; internal relations among participants in the commandite (including participation in management and the distribution of the profits) are controlled by provisions that become operative only in cases not otherwise provided for.