Galambos v Perez, its Critics, and the Equity-Certainty Paradox in Fiduciary Law

This paper examines the merits of the current approach to identifying ad hoc fiduciary duties in Canada, which was exposited by the Supreme Court of Canada in its 2009 Galambos v Perez decision. The indicia of fiduciary relationships expressed in Galambos, I argue, are sufficiently comprehensive and certain to overcome popular academic criticisms of the indicia-based ad hoc approach. Specifically, I will challenge the arguments of the contractarian scholar Anthony Duggan and the equity-focused scholar Leonard Rotman -- both of which argue, albeit from different ends of the academic spectrum, that ad hoc fiduciary duties should not be identified using indicia.

Treuhand an GmbH-Geschäftsanteilen

Fiduciary relationships with regard to shares in a German GmbH (limited liability company) are popular in practice, but not yet fully explored. In the underlying cases, one person (the trustee) participates in a GmbH for another (the trustor) on the basis of a trust agreement under the law of obligations. The thesis deals with the diverse legal questions arising out of this arrangement. For example, new argumentative approaches are used to reject the notarial form requirement of a transfer trust (Übertragungstreuhand) and to affirm that of an acquisition trust (Erwerbstreuhand). In addition, it is shown that the "qualified fiduciary relationship" generally recognized for partnerships is also permissible according to the law of the GmbH.

The covid-19 Infodemic and Online Platforms as Intermediary Fiduciaries under International Law

Reflecting on the covid-19 infodemic, this paper identifies different dimensions of information disorder associated with the pandemic, examines how online platform governance has been evolving in response, and reflects on what the crisis reveals about the relationship between online platforms, international law, and the prospect of regulation. The paper argues that online platforms are intermediary fiduciaries of the international public good, and for this reason regulation should be informed by relevant standards that apply to fiduciary relationships.

Internal and External Perspectives

This chapter reviews several recent themes in New Private Law scholarship. Some New Private Law scholarship is functionalist at its core, yet it makes use of the internal point of view to show how private law can function successfully. Understanding the internal point of view on doctrinal categories and concepts can help to clarify how those categories and concepts are useful. Such inclusive functionalist theories may show how private law’s deontological concepts motivate regulated parties, or how their modularity permits law to address problems of complexity. Indeed, nonfunctionalist approaches may also show an external orientation while taking the internal point of view as a starting point.Other New Private Law scholarship is interested exclusively in providing correct understandings of law from the internal point of view. Such internalist accounts may nonetheless draw from external perspectives and methods in an effort to develop adequate interpretive criteria. Moreover, the application of these interpretive criteria may lead to substantive theories of tort, contract, fiduciary relationships, or property that are partly comprised of classically functionalist understandings.Interestingly, New Private Law theory also incorporates hybrid accounts; these mixed approaches take different forms. A good example is the kind of theory permitted by a moderate transparency criterion: a theory that is “in the right ballpark.” These multiple approaches in combination represent a genuine flowering of private law theory as a field of inquiry.

15. Fiduciary Duties

This chapter examines the nature of fiduciary duties and how a fiduciary relationship can be identified. It emphasizes that trustees are fiduciaries, and so are subject to fiduciary duties, but also considers other fiduciary relationships. The chapter analyses the nature and function of fiduciary obligations. It examines in detail the two core fiduciary duties of ensuring that there is no conflict between a fiduciary’s personal interest and their duty to the principal and also that a fiduciary should not profit from their fiduciary position. The chapter discusses the consequences of a breach of fiduciary duty and the available remedies for such a breach. In particular, the chapter considers when and why profits obtained by a fiduciary in breach of a fiduciary duty should be held on constructive trust for the principal, with particular reference to the receipt of bribes and secret commissions.

Las relaciones fiduciarias y sus contextos: continuidades, analogías y metáforas. (Presentación del número monográfico)

Este número monográfico pretende contribuir a la reflexión sobre el interés de las relaciones fiduciarias en varios sentidos. En primer lugar, quiere coadyuvar a aclarar las ventajas y las limitaciones conceptuales y normativas del principio fiduciario para la reflexión filosófico-política y para la política práctica contemporáneas. En segundo lugar, aspira a enriquecer nuestra apreciación de los hilos entrecruzados de la constitución fiduciaria del mundo moderno mediante el examen de los desarrollos de esta idea en Europa y Estados Unidos. En tercer lugar, pretende refinar nuestra comprensión del potencial que tiene su aplicación a diversas áreas interconectadas de la filosofía, la economía, la sociología y el derecho. Finalmente, se pretende proponer discusiones histórico-conceptualmente informadas sobre la relación entre el republicanismo y los principios fiduciarios. This monographic issue aims to contribute to the reflection on the interest of fiduciary relationships in several ways. Firstly, it wants to help clarify the conceptual and normative advantages and limitations of the fiduciary principle for contemporary philosophical-political reflection and practical politics. Secondly, it aspires to enrich our appreciation of the interlocking threads of the fiduciary constitution of the modern world by examining the developments of this idea in Europe and the United States. Thirdly, it seeks to refine our understanding of the potential of its application to various interconnected areas of philosophy, economics, sociology, and law. Finally, it is intended to propose historically and conceptually informed discussions on the relationship between republicanism and fiduciary principles.

Accounting and insurance in the early modern age

This article aims to offer, through the use of sixteenth-century accounting sources, a contribution on a crucial issue for the development of Mediterranean transports and trades of the early modern age, such as the maritime insurance. The research focuses on the importance and high information potential of accounting records, even in this real economy sector. It analyzes a business case in one of the main maritime centers of the Mediterranean area, the city-state of Ragusa (present-day Dubrovnik), and is concerned with investigating the insurance activity of a Dubrovnik merchant. Through the analysis of the accounting records, in addition to the business dynamics and the economic and fiduciary relationships occurred between the merchant and the other actors of the security contract, aspects related to the insurance management, profits and losses of the same are taken into consideration. In addition, the relevance and close connection of insurance with the businesses and the ship owners’ interests of the company is also considered.