Company Law

Author(s):  
Brenda Hannigan

Company Law brings clarity and analysis to the ever-changing landscape of this field. The text aims to capture the dynamism of the subject, places the material in context, highlights its relevance and topicality, and guides readers through all the major areas. The book is divided into five distinct sections covering corporate structure (including legal personality and constitutional issues), corporate governance (including directors' duties and liabilities), shareholders' rights and remedies (including powers of decision-making and shareholder engagement), corporate finance (including share and loan capital), and corporate insolvency (including insolvencies arising).

Author(s):  
Brenda Hannigan

Company Law brings clarity and analysis to the ever-changing landscape of this field. The text aims to capture the dynamism of the subject, places the material in context, highlights its relevance and topicality, and guides readers through all the major issues. From incorporation through to liquidation and dissolution, the work explores the workings of the corporate entity. The book is divided into five distinct sections covering corporate structure (including legal personality and constitutional issues), corporate governance (including directors’ duties and liabilities), shareholders’ rights and remedies (including powers of decision-making and shareholder petitions), corporate finance (including share and loan capital), and corporate insolvency.


Obiter ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maleka Femida Cassim

Effective shareholder control over the board of directors is patently in the interests of good corporate governance, accountability and transparency. In recognition of this modern reality, the policy focus in company law has shifted to encouraging shareholder participation and shareholder engagement in corporate affairs. Bearing in mind that very few shareholders of large public companies attend meetings in person, proxy voting is of vital importance to corporate democracy. This article discusses enhanced rights conferred by the Companies Act 71 of 2008 in relation to shareholder proxies who attend, speak and vote at shareholders’ meetings. It also considers the pressing practical question whether companies may impose a cut-off time for the lodgement of shareholder proxies.


Author(s):  
Dr Lee Roach

Company Law provides an introduction to this topic. The text guides the reader through the intricacies of the subject with expert analysis of the application of principles to real-life cases. The chapters provide comprehensive coverage of all core aspects of company law. The relationship between company law and corporate governance is explored, ensuring that readers have a full picture of how and why companies are created and regulated. Topics include: the formation and nature of the company; the board of directors; membership of the company; and corporate rescue, restructuring, and insolvency.


2019 ◽  
pp. 3-84
Author(s):  
Carsten Gerner-Beuerle ◽  
Michael Schillig

In accordance with comparative law methodology, the chapter seeks to define and delineate in functional terms the subject matter of this book. It aims to provide a workable conception of ‘business corporation’ and ‘company law’ that transcends national boundaries. The modern business corporation (or company) is a comparatively recent phenomenon that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its rise is linked with the development of the modern nation state and capitalism. Despite a growing interest in comparative company law scholarship, most lawyers still approach the subject with preconceptions formed by their own domestic corporate law experience. This can be problematic given that major differences in typology, historical development, regulatory framework, and legal characteristics remain. Consequently, this chapter discusses the concepts and terminology used in this context in common law and civil law systems, explores separate legal personality and limited liability as defining properties of the business corporation, provides an overview of the historic development of the business corporation and of corporate (law) theory, and analyses the sources of domestic corporate law.


Author(s):  
Christine Shropshire

The board of directors serves multiple corporate governance functions, including monitoring management, providing oversight on strategic issues, and linking the organization to the broader external environment. Researchers have become increasingly interested in board interlocks and how content transmitted via these linkages shapes firm outcomes, such as corporate structure and strategies. As influential mechanisms to manage environmental uncertainty and facilitate information exchange, Board interlocks are created by directors who are affiliated with more than one firm via employment or board service and allow the board to capture a diversity of strategic experiences. One critical corporate decision that may be influenced by interlocks and strategic diffusion is diversification (i.e., in which products and markets to compete). Directors draw on their own experiences with diversification strategies at other firms to help guide and manage ongoing strategic decision-making. There is broad scholarship on interlocks and the individuals who create them, with extant research reporting that some firms are more likely to imitate or learn from their interlock partners than others. Prior findings suggest that the conditions under which information is transmitted via interlock, such as an individual director’s experience with diversification strategies at other firms, may make that information more influential to the focal firm’s own strategic decision-making related to diversification. A more holistic framework captures factors related to the individual interlocking director, the board and firm overall and the context surrounding these linkages and relationships, helping to promote future research. Understanding the social context surrounding board interlocks offers opportunities to more deeply examine how these interconnections serve in pursuit of the board’s fundamental purpose of protecting shareholder investment from managerial self-interest. Overall, integrating multi-level factors will offer new insights into the influence of board interlocks on firm strategies on both sides of the partnership. Expanding knowledge of how inter-firm linkages transmit knowledge influential to board decision-making can also improve our understanding of board effectiveness and corporate governance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-141
Author(s):  
Iakovina Kindylidi

Artificial Intelligence, although at its infancy, is progressing at a fast pace. Its potential applications within the business structure, have led economists and industry analysts to conclude that in the next years, it will become an integral part of the boardroom. This paper examines how AI can be used to augment the decision-making process of the board of directors and the possible legal implications regarding its deployment in the field of company law and corporate governance. After examining the three possible stages of AI use in the boardroom, based on a multidisciplinary approach, the advantages and pitfalls of using AI in the decision-making process are scrutinised. Moreover, AI might be able to autonomously manage a company in the future, whether the legal appointment of the AI as a director is possible and the enforceability of its action is tested. Concomitantly, a change in the corporate governance paradigm is proposed for Smart Companies. Finally, following a comparative analysis on company and securities law, possible adaptations to the current directors’ liability scheme when AI is used to augment the decisions of the board is investigated and future legal solutions are proposed for the legislator.


2019 ◽  
Vol 278 (2) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
José Sérgio da Silva Cristóvam ◽  
José Carlos Loitey Bergamini

<p>Corporate governance in the State-owned Companies Law: outstanding aspects about transparency, risk management and compliance</p><p> </p><p>A Lei das Estatais surge em um momento conturbado, mas não inédito, da política brasileira, com seguidas revelações de ilicitudes ligadas a empresas estatais, com a pretensão de estabelecer mecanismos que tornem essas empresas menos suscetíveis a escândalos de corrupção. Uma tarefa nada fácil, diante da complexidade organizacional das empresas e sua expressividade econômica no mercado nacional. Destacam-se na lei três grandes blocos: estrutura societária, governança coorporativa e contratação (licitações e contratos). O estudo pretende abordar aspectos de governança corporativa, apresentando diversas práticas que aproximam as estatais das práticas mais atuais de governança do setor privado. No artigo são apresentadas práticas de transparência, gestão de riscos e compliance, definindo seus contornos, limites e possibilidades, com a finalidade de contribuir para a mais adequada aplicação da nova lei. Por fim, há conclusão pelo acerto na instituição da Lei das Estatais, quando traz a questão da governança corporativa para o epicentro político-normativo das empresas estatais, com regras de transparência, gestão de risco e exigência de programas de conformidade que aprimoram os instrumentos e mecanismos de gestão e combate/prevenção à corrupção. O método utilizado é o dedutivo e monográfico e a técnica de pesquisa bibliográfica, com análise da legislação relacionada com a doutrina sobre o tema.</p><p> </p><p>The State-Owned Enterprises Law arises in a troubled but not unprecedent moment of Brazilian politics, followed by revelations of unlawfulness linked to stated-owned enterprises, with the aim of establishing mechanisms that make these companies less susceptible to corruption scandals. A task that isn’t not easy due to the organizational complexity of the companies and their economic expressiveness in the national market. Three major blocks stand out in the law: corporate structure; corporate governance and contracting (bidding and contracts). The study aims to address aspects of corporate governance, presenting several practices that bring state companies closer to the most current practices of private sector governance. The article presents practices of disclosure, risk management and compliance, defining its contours, limits and possibilities, with the purpose of contributing to the most appropriate application of the new law. Finally, there is a conclusion of the establishment of the State-Owned Enterprises Law, when it brings the question of corporate governance to the political-normative epicenter of state-owned enterprises, with rules of transparency, risk management and compliance programs that improve the instruments and management mechanisms for combating and preventing corruption. The method and technique used are, respectively, the deductive and monographic, and the bibliographic research, with the analysis of related legislation and the doctrine about the subject.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Quynh Thuy Quach

AbstractDerivative actions have just been newly introduced into Vietnamese company law in 2010. The adoption of the derivative action is a striking signal of Vietnam's affiliation with the litigation bandwagon of East Asian countries. Unlike those Asian countries where the issue of the transplanting and functioning of derivative actions are well-discussed topics in the corporate governance literature, such discussions have not yet begun in Vietnam. In fact, the derivative action was adopted without a domestic academic debate to pave the way for its introduction. The lack of discussion on the one hand is troublesome to those who want to review the transplantation of the derivative action to Vietnam. On the other hand, this absence also detaches the Vietnamese academic debate from the on-going international debate on the subject.Seeking possible explanations for the absence of such debate is the first aim of this article. Towards this end, the article proposes three explanation which help to explain why the derivative action had never been widely discussed in Vietnam before its introduction. Such explanations enable us to better understand the context in which the action was introduced. Moreover, the explanations provide us with hints to predict the feasibility of the derivative action in the jurisdiction. The second aim of this article is to give some suggestions to improve the newly-adopted regulations on derivative actions. For this purpose, some of the ambiguities and deficiencies of the regulations are discussed. Based on the understanding of its surrounding context and its own deficiencies, the article comes up with conclusions on the future of the derivative action in Vietnam.


Author(s):  
Alan Dignam ◽  
John Lowry

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. Company Law provides an account of the key principles of this area of law. It aims to demystify this complex subject. Chapter introductions provide summaries of various aspects of company law and further reading provide the tools for further research and study. This volume includes coverage of new case law such as Prest v Petrodel Resources Ltd (2013); Chandler v Cape plc (2012); VTB Capital plc v Nutritek Int Corp (2013); Vivendi SA v Richards; Weavering Capital v Dabhia; Sharma v Sharma; and FHR European Ventures LLP v Mankarious. On corporate governance the new edition discusses the implementation of mandatory ‘Say on Pay’ measures in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, the implementation of the Kay Review recommendations, and the new format Directors’ Report (2013). Also covered are the EU action plan on European company law and corporate governance (2012) and the EU consultation on the future of European company law (2012), as well as the Law Commission’s consultation of the fiduciary duties of investment intermediaries (2014), and the revised system of registration of company charges.


Author(s):  
Alan Dignam ◽  
John Lowry

Titles in the Core Text series take the reader straight to the heart of the subject, providing focused, concise, and reliable guides for students at all levels. Company Law provides an account of the key principles of this area of law. It aims to demystify this complex subject. Chapter introductions provide summaries of various aspects of company law and further reading provide the tools for further research and study. This volume includes coverage of new case law such as Rossendale BC v Hurstwood Properties (A) Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 364; BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA [2019] EWCA Civ 112; Global Corporate Ltd v Hale [2018] EWCA Civ 2618; Parr v Keystone Healthcare Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1246; Sevilleja Garcia v Marex Financial Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1468; and Re Sprintroom Ltd; Prescott v Potamianos [2019] EWCA Civ 932. On corporate governance the latest developments surrounding the UK Corporate Governance Code and Stewardship Developments 2020 together with Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies are discussed.


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