Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-t27h7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-16T22:08:19.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - The European Model Company Act Project

from PART I - Perspectives in company law, SECTION 1: European company law: regulatory competition and free movement of companies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2010

By
Theodor Baums  and
Paul Krüger Andersen
Edited by
Michel Tison ,
Hans De Wulf ,
Christoph Van der Elst  and
Reinhard Steennot
Michel Tison
Affiliation:
Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Hans De Wulf
Affiliation:
Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Christoph Van der Elst
Affiliation:
Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Reinhard Steennot
Affiliation:
Universiteit Gent, Belgium
Get access

Summary

Introduction

On 27 and 28 September 2007, a commission formed on the initiative of the authors held its first meeting in Aarhus, Denmark to deliberate on its goal of drafting a European Model Company Act (EMCA). This project, outlined in the following pages, aims neither to force a mandatory harmonization of national company law nor to create a further, European corporate form. The goal is rather to draft model rules for a corporation that national legislatures would be free to adopt in whole or in part. Thus, the project is thought of as an alternative and supplement to the existing EU instruments for the convergence of company law. The present EU instruments, their prerequisites and limits will be discussed in more detail in Part II, below. Part III, will examine the US experience with such ‘model acts’ in the area of company law. Part IV, will then conclude by discussing several topics concerning the content of an EMCA, introducing the members of the EMCA Working Group, and explaining the Group's preliminary working plan.

European company law legislation: traditional instruments and a new tool

The limits of European company law legislation

Until now, the European Union has employed three tools to ensure that the legal rules in the area of company law are compatible with the goal of a functioning internal market: first, the harmonization of national company law through directives adopted under art.

Type
Chapter
Information
Perspectives in Company Law and Financial Regulation , pp. 5 - 17
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersen, P. Krüger, ‘Regulation or Deregulation in European Company Law – a Challenge’, in Bernitz, U. (ed.), Modern Company Law for a European Economy – Ways and Means, (Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik Förlag, 2006), 263Google Scholar
Baums, T., ‘The law of corporate finance in Europe – an essay’, Nordic Company Law, 31 (2008)Google Scholar
Ebke, W., ‘Unternehmensrechtsangleichung in der Europäischen Union’, in Festschrift für B. Großfeld, (Heidelberg: Recht und Wirtschaft, 1999), 189, 212Google Scholar
Wouters, J., ‘European Company Law: Quo Vadis?’, Common Market Law Review, 37 (2000), 257–307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teichmann, C., Binnenmarktkonformes Gesellschaftsrecht (Berlin: de Gruyter Recht, 2006), pp. 73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sørensen, K. Engsig and Nielsen, P. Runge, EU-retten, (Copenhagen: Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag, 2004), 675Google Scholar
Kieninger, E. M., Wettbewerb der Privatrechtsordnungen im Europäischen Binnenmarkt, (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002)Google Scholar
Heine, K., Regulierungswettbewerb im Gesellschaftsrecht, (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2003)Google Scholar
Armour, J., ‘Who should make Corporate Law? EC Legislation versus Regulatory Competition’, ECGI- Law Working Paper, 54 (2005)Google Scholar
Andersson, J., ‘Competition between Member States as Corporate Legislator’, in Bernitz, U. (ed.), Modern Company Law for a European Economy – Ways and Means (Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik Förlag, 2006)Google Scholar
Birkmose, H. Søndergård, ‘Regulatory Competition and the European Harmonisation Process’, European Business Law Review, 17 (2006), 1079–97.Google Scholar
Santella, P. and Turrini, R., ‘A contribution to the debate on the legal capital regime in the EU: What the Second Company Law Directive allows’, in Andersen, P. Krüger and Sørensen, K. Engsig (eds.), Company Law and Finance, (Copenhagen: Thomson, 2007), 85Google Scholar
Teichmann, C., ‘Wettbewerb der Gesetzgeber im Europäischen Gesellschaftsrecht’, in Reimer, E. et al. (eds.), Europäisches Gesellschafts- und Steuerrecht, (Munich: Beck Juristischer Verlag, 2007), 313, 329Google Scholar
Birkmose, H. Søndergård, ‘A Race to the Bottom in the EU’, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 1 (2006), 35–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skog, R., ‘Harmoniseringen af bolagsrätten indom EU – fortfarende vind i seglen?’, NTS, 1(2007), 66.Google Scholar
Baums, T., ‘European Company Law beyond the 2003 Action Plan’, European Business Organization Law Review, 8 (2007), 143CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitch, E., ‘Business Organization Law: State or Federal? – An Inquiry into the Allocation of Political Competence in Relation to Issues of Business Organization Law in a Federal System’ in Buxbaum, R. M. et al. (eds.), European Business Law: Legal and Economic Analyses on Integration and Harmonization (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1991), pp. 35, 40Google Scholar
Weber-Rey, D., ‘Effects of the Better Regulation Approach on European Company Law and Corporate Governance’ European Company and Financial Law Review, 3 (2007), 370, 374Google Scholar
Zweigert, K. and Kötz, H., An Introduction to Comparative Law, third edition (Oxford: Clarendon, 1998), § 17.IIIGoogle Scholar
Romano, R., The Genius of American Corporate Law (Washington: American enterprise institute for public policy research, 1993), 128 et seq.Google Scholar
Hein, J., ‘Competitive Company Law: Comparisons with the USA’, in Bernitz, U. (ed.), Modern Company Law for a European Economy – Ways and Means, (Stockholm: Norstedts Juridik Förlag, 2006), 25Google Scholar
Hamilton, R.W., ‘The Revised Model Business Corporation Act: Comment and Observation. Reflections of a Reporter’, Texas Law Review, 63(1985), 1455Google Scholar
Macey, J., Macey on Corporation Laws (Aspen Publishers, 2002), IntroductionGoogle Scholar
Booth, R. A., ‘Model Business Corporation Act – 50th Anniversary’, Bus. Law., 56 (2000), 63Google Scholar
Barnett, J. A. et al., ‘The MBCA and state corporation law – a tabular comparison of selected financial provisions’, Bus. Law., 56 (2000), 69Google Scholar
Eisenberg, M. A., Corporations and Other Business Associations. Statutes, Rules, Materials, and Forms (New York: Foundation Press, 2007), 677Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×