This new book offers a substantial framework for examining the competence or powers of the EC in the field of company law, and the requirements for the lawful exercise of these powers (the principle of subsidiarity and the observance of Article 43 EC in particular). In order to provide a clear understanding of the practical relevance of this framework, the author tests the provisions of specific EC company law instruments for compatibility with the EC Treaty. Although the substantial body of EC company law that has been built up over the years is covered, the focus is on EC company law instruments which have been adopted in implementation of the 2003 Action Plan. The book includes a survey of the various company law instruments (both pre-and post-Action Plan) which together make up EC company law, and discusses the objectives of EC company law policy. --

For the past two decades corporate governance reform in Europe has been guided by the ‘shareholder value’ model of the firm. That model has been discredited as one of the major causes of the financial and economic crisis. In a new book published by the ETUI an alternative approach to corporate governance is presented by members of the GOODCORP network of researchers and trade unionists. This new approach, entitled the Sustainable Company, draws on both traditional ‘stakeholder’ models of the firm and newer concerns with sustainability. The main elements of the Sustainable Company and the institutions needed to support it are presented. Key themes in the book are the need for worker ‘voice’ in corporate governance and for a binding legislative framework to promote sustainability. Individual chapters deal with the issues of worker involvement, employee shareholding, sustainability-oriented remuneration, international framework agreements, NGO-trade union relationships, reforming financial regulation and carbon taxes and emissions-trading schemes.

This book is a collective volume of studies on the recent legislative developments in European Company Law as well as on topical legal issues that affect companies but which have not been harmonized yet. The Mobility Directive has introduced important amendments to the cross border operations of companies while the Directive on the Digitalisation of Company Law has brought about changes in the setting up of businesses and the use of digital tools and processes throughout the lifecycle of companies. The authors present and thoroughly analyses in their studies the important aspects of these new provisions and the challenges they present in their implementation. The book further explores the future of EU Company Law in particular regarding sustainable corporate governance, director’s duties, letterbox companies and the possible harmonization of the rules regulating groups of companies in the EU. All legal issues are presented very comprehensively and the authors who are academics and legal practitioners are shedding light on complicated legal questions in a very clear way.

The last Asian financial crisis, coupled with the western series of corporate scandals, has caused investors and citizens to doubt mangers ability to guarantee credible financial information about organizations. Consequently, legislators all over the world have come to realise the necessity of legislating in the area of corporate governance.

In a market environment where economic actors conduct themselves as diligent and conscientious managers, the regulation of related party transactions (RPTs) would be largely irrelevant. Unfortunately, the corporate reality is far from an ideal world that is innocent of market abuse and corporate fraud. It remains necessary to protect minority shareholders from the wrongdoings of majority shareholders and to protect all shareholders from opportunistic managerial behaviour. This timely book – the first on the subject since implementation of the European Union’s (EU’s) revised Shareholders’ Rights Directive – provides in-depth analysis of how and to what extent RPTs are covered by existing legal requirements on capital protection and corporate group regulation, highlighting experiences and strategies adopted in Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands as examples for Eastern European countries and in particular Ukraine. Beyond his comparative analysis of the current status, the author offers recommendations for more effective handling of RPTs, investigating such aspects as the following: what constitutes a corporate group and how group issues are regulated in the various legal systems; what constitutes a conflict of interest originating in ownership and control and what types of such conflicts occur; whether RPTs within corporate groups should receive special treatment relative to transactions outside groups; combatting corporate raiding, most often carried out through illegal seizure of corporate assets; approval and disclosure requirements for RPTs; and how information about RPTs is disclosed publicly. Drawing on resources including legislation, case law, scholarship, and intensive discussions with practicing lawyers from several jurisdictions, the author underscores the imperative of establishing limitations and requirements that oblige a company’s officers, shareholders, and other potential related parties to follow certain rules whenever they wish to enter into an RPT. As a contribution to the debate about the convergence between EU corporate law and that of major eastern European states, the book has no peers. Practitioners in both East and West who advise on compliance with regulations for RPTs or represent stakeholders’ interests against abusive RPTs will ensure appropriate remedies and protection mechanisms for their clients.

As a penetrating evaluation of the EU's capability to improve its corporate regulatory infrastructure and thereby attract more investors and business activities within its territory as a whole, this book offers insights to those interested in the field, from economic policymakers at every level of government to business persons and their counsel.

The most accessible and user-friendly introduction to corporate governance, providing broad coverage of international issues and clear examples of theory in a business context.

Whether the corporate form is used to avoid liabilities or cover illegal acts, or whether abuse is practised to obtain certain advantages, the subject of this first-ever in-depth survey and analysis garners more attention every day – both in legal literature and in popular media. Taken together, the authoritative contributions in this book clearly and comprehensively reveal typical situations where abuse may take place and how company law and other areas of law have tackled these incidents and practices in a variety of key jurisdictions. Focusing on Europe but with global implications, the topics raised include the following: how group structures may be used by multinational enterprises to escape regulation and avoid taxation; whether the decision to incorporate a company in a particular jurisdiction may be abusive; companies set up for the purpose of money laundering; letterbox companies formed as a front to allow a company to benefit from one legal regime and avoid others; ex post transfers of seats such as cross-border mergers and conversions; when the use of phoenix companies may constitute an abuse of the corporate form; how corporate mobility is used to circumvent worker participation; and how online company formation and technological innovation may foster abuse. This book helps to explain how the line is drawn between abuse and (creative) use of the corporate form. Remedies covered include restricting the use of bearer shares, setting minimum capital requirements, piercing the corporate veil, ensuring transparency of beneficial ownership, using insolvency law to lodge claims against directors and shareholders and recover assets, and applying the general principle prohibiting abuse. There is no other book on the market focusing on abuse of companies and giving such a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Practitioners will get guidelines on how to avoid becoming involved in activities that may constitute abuse and how to address instances where abuse has occurred, and interested academics, legislators, and enforcement authorities in Europe and beyond will find this book’s perspectives invaluable.

This is a book that will be warmly welcomed by everyone engaged in the important debate under way on corporate responsibility and governance.