The Spirit of Corporate Law

Reading the Company Law Action Plan of the European Commission (issued on 21 May 2003) one cannot help having the impression that European company law policy has a certain focus on listed companies and will try to enhance their efficiency by way of state competition if possible, and by harmonisation only if need be. The same is true under the new Action Plan on European company law and corporate governance (issued on 12 December 2012). The book, to the contrary, is first of all based on the fact that throughout Europe only a small number of corporations are listed at all - the reality of corporate law is dominated by small and medium-size enterprises. Therefore legal standards pertaining to control transactions or investor protection and other topics of capital market law are not part of the core principles of corporate law. The question is not how to protect best the interests of shareholders but rather the interests of all parties affected by a firm's activities, including its creditors and other third parties. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union reminds us not to forget that when drawing the attention of the European legislator in the field of corporate law and freedom of establishment to directives safeguarding "the protection of the interests of members and others" (art. 50). The book is focusing on the perspective of key jurisdictions in continental Europe, such as (in an alphabetical order) Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and considering seminal inputs from Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Scandinavian countries. Highlights - an up-to-date contribution to the imminent reforms in European company law emphasizing the continental European perspective - written by authors with great practical experience