In this short study, the author examines three major company law models in Europe with respect to minority shareholder protection. Starting with a general analysis of companies and the different groups of interest, the research focuses on understanding the social and economic reasons behind minority shareholder protection. Minority shareholder protection may be provided by general principles of law, by statutory remedies and procedural instruments. In this paper, an overview is given on the key instruments of protection, also revealing the differences between German, French and English court practice. Furthermore, author calls readers' attention to the numerous alternatives, which are at the hands of minority shareholders to protect their interests in any case of abuse. At the same time, minority shareholder protection is not a 'bad or good' question: in each phase of policy-making there are competing values and legislator has only a narrow pathway to satisfy all legitimate interests.