The fourth edition of the leading company law textbook, provides the most authoritative and comprehensive commentary on Irish company law following the commencement of the Companies Act 2014. The Companies Act 2014 makes the most far-reaching and fundamental changes to Irish company law in two generations, putting forward a radically different approach whereby the private company limited by shares will become the new model company. The structure of the fourth edition of this highly regarded title mirrors this new Act. The Act comprises over 1,448 Parts and represents the modern statement of the law applicable to the formation of companies, administration and management to their winding up and dissolution, incorporating the rights and duties of their officers, members and creditors. The Act commences on 1 June 2015 and introduces significant changes for companies operating in Ireland. This work has been expanded and revised to account for these legislative changes and important case law. As chairperson of the Company Law Review Group, whose recommendations greatly informed the new Act and as a leading practitioner of company law, Tom Courtney has a unique insight to the new legislation, its purpose and interpretation.The fourth edition is virtually a complete re-write and at approximately 2,900 pages it is some 400 pages longer than the last edition. Fully updated to take account of the dozens of judgments from the Irish and UK courts that have been delivered since the previous edition as well as the new statutory provisions, the fourth edition of The Law of Companies is a 'must have' for all practitioners, students and users of Irish company law.

"The second edition of this highly regarded text covers in depth all the important developments in company law since 1994, including the recent Company Law Enforcement Act 2001. The work has been expanded and revised, with many new chapters added and existing chapters enlarged. In particular, the new chapter on Company Law Compliance and Enforcement looks at the new office of Director of Corporate Enforcement, criminal offences, arrestable offences, the restriction of directions and the right to strike off companies. A new separate chapter, Statutory Regulation of Transactions Involving Directors explores the effects of the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 which amends Part III of the Companies Act 1990. A new chapter on Groups of Companies gives a full examination of the definition of subsidiary and holding company. Other new or substantially expanded chapters include Corporate Civil Litigation, Company Meetings and Schemes of Arrangement. All relevant Irish, English and Commonwealth case law is fully assimilated and examined. This book is an essential reference for all company law practitioners, students and business advisors."

This book’s primary concern is the application of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law in addressing the business conduct of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) during armed conflicts, as well as state responsibility for human rights violations and current attempts at international regulation. The book discusses four interconnected themes. First, it differentiates private contractors from mercenaries, presenting an historical overview of private violence. Second, it situates PMSCs’ employees under the legal status of civilian or combatant in accordance with the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions of 1949. It then investigates the existing law on state responsibility and what sort of responsibility companies and their employees can face. Finally, the book explores current developments on regulation within the industry, on national, regional and international levels. These themes are connected by the argument that, in order to find gaps in the existing laws, it is necessary to establish what they are, what law is applicable and what further developments are needed.

This book advances a real entity theory of company law, in which the company is a legal entity which acts autonomously in law, and company law establishes procedures facilitating autonomous organisational decision-making. The theory builds on the insight that organisations or firms are a social phenomenon outside of the law and that these are autonomous actors in their own right. They are more than the sum of the contributions of their participants and they act independently of the views and interests of their participants. This occurs because human beings change their behaviour when they act as members of a group or an organisation; in a group we tend to develop and conform to a shared standard, and when we act in organisations habits, routines, processes, and procedures form and a culture emerges. These take on a life of their own affecting the behaviour of the participants. Participants can affect organisational behaviour but this takes time and effort. Company law finds this phenomenon and supplies it with a structure supporting autonomous action by organisations. The real entity theory advanced in this book explains company law as it stands at a positive level. Legal personality overcomes the problems that organisations are social rather than brute facts and that there is no unique physical manifestation permanently associated with an organisation. The corporate constitution is not a contract - it is best characterised as an instrument adopted on a statutory basis through private action. Shareholders cannot limit the capacity of companies or the authority of the board to bind the company in contract and companies are liable in tort and crime. The statute creates roles for shareholders, directors, a company secretary, and auditors and so facilitates a process leading to organisational action. The law also integrates the interests of creditors and stakeholders.

This book presents a comprehensive study on how twenty-three countries have approached the issue of company groups. In addition to detailed profiles of each country’s legislation, written by some of the most respected experts in the field, the book also presents a general overview and offers readers an in-depth, up-to-date and highly practical comparative analysis of the company group phenomenon in connection with national legal regimes. As such, the book is a must-read for all those seeking a deeper understanding of how company groups are viewed and regulated around the globe.