JUS274-2-A / Comparative Company Law & Economics 1: Theory and Structure

Seminar I

The Theory of the Firm and the Corporation

Reading:

-        Bearle Adolf A./ Means Gardiner C., The Modern Corporation and Private Property (1932), abstracts (pages 304-313)

-        Coase, Ronald H, The Nature of the Firm, Economica n.s. 4 (November 1937), abstracts (pages 386-398).

-        Easterbrook Frank H./Fischel Daniel R., The Corporate Contract, 89 Columbia Law Rev. 1416-1448 (1989).

-        Gordon Jeffrey N., The Mandatory Structure of Corporate Law, 89 Colum L Rev 1549 [1989]

-        Hansmann Henry/Kraakman Reinier, What is Corporate Law?, in Kraakman/Davies/Hansmann/Hertig/Hopt/Kanda/Rock, The Anatomy of Corporate Law (2009).

Seminar II

Harmonisation of Company Law — Why and how?

Part I: European Union, Harmonisation of Company Law and the Delaware effect in the US

Reading:

Articles and books:

-        Cary, William L., Federalism and Corporate Law: Reflections upon Delaware, 88 Yale L. J. 663-707

-        Cheffins, Brian R, Company Law, Theory, Structure and Operation; careful reading: chapter 9;

-        Hamilton, Robert W, The Law of Corporations, 5th edition 2000, p 62-68.

-        Kraakman, Reinier, Armour, John, Davies, Paul, Enriques, Luca, Hansmann, Henry B., Hertig, Gerard, Hopt, Klaus J., Kanda, Hideki and Rock, Edward B, The Anatomy of Corporate Law, A Comparative and Functional Approach, Second Edition 2009, part on Delaware effect.

-        Winter, Ralph K., State Law, Shareholder Protection and the Theory of the Corporation, 6 Journal of Legal Studies 251-292.

Seminar II

Harmonisation of Company Law — Why and how?

Part I (continue): European Union, Harmonisation of Company Law and the Delaware effect in the US

Reading:

EU-material:

-        10th Company Law Directive concerning cross-border mergers (2005/56/EC)

-        Proposal for the 14th Company Law Directive on the transfer of the registered office of a company from one member state to another with a change of applicable law

-        Regulation on the European Company

-        Proposal for the SPE (European private company)

-        Daily Mail (Case 81/87, 27 September 1988)

-        Centros Ltd v Ehvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen, Case C-212/97 [1999] ECR I-1459

-        Überseering BV v Nordic Construction Company Baumanagement GmbH (NCC), Case C-208/00 [2002] ECR I-9919

-        Cartesio (Case C-210/06, 16 December 2008)

-        VALE Építési Kft (Case C-378/10, 12th of July 2012)

Articles and books:

-        Andenas, Mads, and Wooldridge, Frank, European Comparative Company Law, 2009, chapter 2.

-        Bhagat, Sanjai, Romano, Roberta, Event Studies and the Law: Part II: Empirical Studies of Corporate Law, 4 Americal Law and Economics L. R. 380-423 (NB: pages 382-394).

-        Carney, William J., Shepherd, George B., The Mystery of Delaware Law’s Continuing Success, 2009 U. ILL. L. REV. 1.

-        Kahan, Marcel, Ehud, Kamar, The Myth of Competition in Corporate Law, 55 Stanford L. R. 679-749.

-        Sorensen, Karsten Engsig, Neville, Mette, Corporate Migration in the European Union, 6 Columbia J. of European Law 181-208.

-        Subramanian, Guhan, The Disappearing Delaware Effect, 20 J.L. Econ & Org. 32

Seminar II

Harmonisation of Company Law — Why and how?

Part II: Harmonisation by federal/EU Law (directives), Model Act or competition between the states/member states?

Reading:

See previous material plus the following articles:

-        The High Level Group and the Issue of European Company Law Harmonisation – Europe Stumbles Along?, i The Regulation of Companies, , A tribute to Paul Krüger Andersen, Mette Neville & Karsten Engsig Sřrensen, s 183-199, 2003.

-        Blackburn, Terence L., The Unification of Corporate Laws: The United States, The European Community and the Race to Laxity, 3 George Mason Independent Law R. 1-95.

-        Report of the Reflection Group On the Future of EU Company Law

-        See: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/docs/modern/reflectiongroup_report_en.pdf

 

Seminar III

Part I: General Principles of Civil Law and Common Law

Reading:

See supra and Zweigert, K & Kötz, H; Introduction to Comparative Law, 2 ed., Oxford 1997, p 149-162 and 284.

Part II: Practical lawmaking — types of companies, purpose with legislation and the question of predictability

See the material for seminar I and II.

Regulation for the European Company

Proposed regulation for the SPE (European private company)

Andenas, Mads, and Wooldridge, Frank, European Comparative Company Law, 2009, chapter 4.

Seminar IV

Minimum share capital and capital protection as a legal device to achieve protection for the creditors of the company

Reading:

-        Andenas, Mads, and Wooldridge, Frank, European Comparative Company Law, 2009, chapter 5.

-        Andersson, Jan., Creditors and Company Law: Do We Discuss One Area of the Law and Pretend to be Ignorant of Another. In Company law and finance. Copenhagen: Thomson, 2008.

-        Armour John, Legal Capital: An Outdated Concept?, 7 European Business Organization Law Review [2006] 5.

-        Cheffins, Brian R, Company Law, Theory, Structure and Operation; careful reading: chapter 5 and 11; summary reading; chapters 1-4 and 6 .

-        Kraakman, Reinier, Armour, John, Davies, Paul, Enriques, Luca, Hansmann, Henry B., Hertig, Gerard, Hopt, Klaus J., Kanda, Hideki and Rock, Edward B, The Anatomy of Corporate Law, A Comparative and Functional Approach, Second Edition 2009, chapter 4.

-        Rickford J., Approaches to Restricting Distributions to Shareholders: Balance Sheet Test and Solvency Tests, European Business Organization Law Review 7: 135-179, T.M.C Asser Press, 2006.

-        Rickford J., Reforming Capital, Report of the Interdisciplinary Group on Capital Maintanance, EBLR, 2004, p 920 ff

Legislation

-        Preamble to the second company law directive

-        Article 15-16 of the second EEC company law directive

-        § 40 of the MBCA 1957 edition

-        § 45-46 MBCA 1979 edition

-        § 6.40 and § 8.33 MBCA

-        Official comment to § 6.40 MBCA pages 495-501

-        §§ 154, 170, 172, 174, 244 Delaware General Corporation Law

-        California Corp Code § 500 before 2012

-        § 3-4 and § 8-1 of the Norwegian CA/ACA

-        Sections 829-853 CA 2006

-        §§ 57-62 German AktG

-        §§ 29-32 German GmbHG

SEMINAR V

Part I: Corporate Organisation: Corporate ‘Organs’ and Theories

Reading:

-        Relevant statutory material

-        Table A, U.K. CA 1985

-        § 76, 111 German AktG

-        Relevant sections in chapter 6 Norwegian CA/ACA

-        Relevant sections in chapter 8 Swedish CA 1975

-        Relevant sections of the Regulation of the EC (SE)

-        Bhagat, Sanjai, Romano, Roberta, Event Studies and the Law: Part II: Empirical Studies of Corporate Law, 4 Americal Law and Economics L. R. 380-423 (NB: pages 401-405).

-        Cheffins, Brian R., Company Law, Theory, Structure and Operation, pages 574-602.

-        Company Law Reform, Consultation Document 5, [2000], pages 257-267.

-        Hamilton, Robert A., ‘Corporate Governance in America...’ [2000] JCL 349, pages 349-373

Part II: Company organs and their ability to bind the company

-        Sections 39-42 CA 2006 (changed/introduced by CA 1989)

-        First EEC company law directive, article 9 para 1 and 2.

-        § 78 and § 82 AktG

-        §§ 35-37 GmbHG

-        §§ 60-61 Danish CA 1973

-        §§ 8:42 CA 2005

-        §§ 6-30-33 Norwegian ACA/CA

-        Davies, P, Gower's Principles of Modern Company Law, 6th edition, 1997, pages 201-233.

Seminar VI

Shareholder protection, especially for minority shareholder, — by what means?

Mandatory, presumptive or permissive legislation?

Reading:

Cheffins, Brian R, Company Law, Theory, Structure and Operation; careful reading: chapters 5, 10 and pages 277 ff; summary reading; chapters 1-4.