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 overview starts from the premise that corporate law across jurisdictions addresses the same three basic agency problems - the opportunism of: managers vis-a-vis shareholders; controlling shareholders vis-a-vis minority shareholders; and shareholdersvis-a-vis other corporate constituencies.

This is the long-awaited third edition of this highly regarded comparative overview of corporate law. This edition has been comprehensively revised and updated to reflect the profound changes in corporate law and governance practices that have taken place since the previous edition. These include numerous regulatory changes following the financial crisis of 2007-09 and the changing landscape of governance, especially in the US, with the ever more central role of institutional investors as (active) owners of corporations. The geographic scope of the coverage has been broadened to include an important emerging economy, Brazil. In addition, the book now incorporates analysis of the burgeoning use of corporate law to protect the interests of "external constituencies" without any contractual relationship to a company, in an attempt to tackle broader social and economic problems. The authors start from the premise that corporations (or companies) in all jurisdictions share the same key legal attributes: legal personality, limited liability, delegated management, transferable shares, and investor ownership. Businesses using the corporate form give rise to three basic types of agency problems: those between managers and shareholders as a class; controlling shareholders and minority shareholders; and shareholders as a class and other corporate constituencies, such as corporate creditors and employees. After identifying the common set of legal strategies used to address these agency problems and discussing their interaction with enforcement institutions, The Anatomy of Corporate Law illustrates how a number of core jurisdictions around the world deploy such strategies. In so doing, the book highlights the many commonalities across jurisdictions and reflects on the reasons why they may differ on specific issues. The analysis covers the basic governance structure of the corporation, including the powers of the board of directors and the shareholder meeting, both when management and when a dominant shareholder is in control. It then analyses the role of corporate law in shaping labor relationships, protection of external stakeholders, relationships with creditors, related-party transactions, fundamental corporate actions such as mergers and charter amendments, takeovers, and the regulation of capital markets. The Anatomy of Corporate Law has established itself as the leading book in the field of comparative corporate law. Across the world, students and scholars at various stages in their careers, from undergraduate law students to well-established authorities in the field, routinely consult this book as a starting point for their inquiries.

An analytical overview of the regulation of shareholder activism in the UK and Germany. The book shows how the comparative legal method can be used in the study of the corporate governance systems of different countries. It deals with the regulation of the governance of listed companies within a wide framework that recognises the importance of company law, securities markets law, standards and internal rule-making.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the German corporate governance model to English speaking readers. It provides an introduction to the unique features of German Business and Enterprise Law. The book deals with the most important company organs, namely the General Meeting, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board. It also covers the unique interplay among these organs and details the particular dynamics of the German two-tier board structure. It gives insight into Accounting as the Documentary Proof of Good Corporate Governance. In addition, coverage examines the dominant role of the German banks and new players in the German financial markets.

This is the second edition of this highly regarded comparative overview of corporate law. It argues that the main function of corporate law is to address conflicts of interests and that, despite economic and social diversity, legal strategies employed across jurisdictions are surprisingly similar.