Choice of Jurisdiction in European Corporate Law - Perspectives of European Corporate Governance

European Business Organization Law Review

Volumn 6, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 3-64

  Tröger, Tobias H ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TÜBINGEN   (Germany)

Author keywords

Centros; competition for corporate charters; corporate law arbitrage; Delaware effect; freedom of establishment; Inspire Art; race to the bottom; berseering

Indexed keywords

EID: 84928739419     PISSN: 15667529     EISSN: 17416205     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S1566752905000030     Document Type: Article

References (288)

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57. Lucian A. Bebchuk and Alma Cohen, 'Firms Decision where to Incorporate', 46 J. L. & Econ. (2003) p. 383 (same);
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59. William L. Cary, 'Federalism and Corporate Law: Reflections upon Delaware', 83 Yale L.J. (1974) p. 663;
60. Louis K. Ligget Co. v. Lee, 288 U.S. 517, 558, n. 34 (1934) (J. Brandeis, dissenting)
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63. Melvin A. Eisenberg, 'The Structure of Corporation Law', 89 Colum. L. Rev. (1989) p. 1461;
64. Lucian A. Bebchuk, 'Federalism and the Corporation: The Desirable Limits on State Competition in Corporate Law', 105 Harv. L. Rev. (1992) p. 1435.
65. Marcel Kahan and Ehud Kamar, 'The Myth of State Competition in Corporate Law', 55 Stan. L. Rev. (2002) p. 679
66. Lucian A. Bebchuk and Assaf Hamdani, 'Vigorous Race or Leisurely Walk: Reconsidering the Competition over Corporate Charters', 112 Yale L.J. (2002) p. 553
67. Robert Daines, 'The Incorporation Choices of IPO Firms', 77 N.Y.U. L. Rev. (2002) p. 1559
68. City Capital Assoc. v. Interco Inc., 551 A.2d 787 (Del. Ch. 1988)
69. Martin Lipton, 'To Our Clients: The Interco Case' (3 November 1988)
70. Jeffrey N. Gordon, 'Corporations, Markets and Courts', 91 Colum. L. Rev. (1995) p. 1931 at p. 1959, n. 95.
71. Mark J. Roe, 'Delaware's Competition', 117 Harv. L. Rev. (2003) p. 588.
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73. Mark J. Roe, 'Delaware's Politics' (October 2003)
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75. Stephen J. Choi and Andrew T. Guzman, 'Choice and Federal Intervention in Corporate Law', 87 Va. L. Rev. (2001) p. 961
76. Christopher Grandy, 'New Jersey Corporate Chartermongering', 49 J. Econ. Hist. (1989) p. 677;
77. Andrew G.T. Moore II, 'A Brief History of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the Amendatory Process', in R. Franklin Balotti and Jesse A. Finkelstein, eds., The Delaware Law of Corporations and Business Organizations, H-1, H-8, 3rd edn. (New York, Aspen Publishers 1998).
78. Henry N. Butler, 'Nineteenth Century Jurisdictional Competition in the Granting of Corporate Privileges', 14 J. Legal Stud. (1985) p. 129 at pp. 161-163;
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80. City Ry. Co. v. People's Ry. Co., 47 A. 245 (Del. Ch. 1900)
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90. Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C.A. § 77a et seq. (2004).
91. Worldwide Energy Co., Ltd., SEC No-Action Letter [1971-1972 Transfer Binder] Fed. Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) ¶78,648 (24 January 1972).
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94. Del. Code Ann. tit. 8, §§ 252, 251 (2003);
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96. N.Y. Bus. Corp. Law §§ 901-903 (2004);
97. Revised Model Bus. Corp. Act §§ 11.04, 11.02 (2002).
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104. All bilateral agreements to avoid double taxation between Members of the European Union follow the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Model Convention with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, 28 January 2003, which provides in Arts. 7(1), 3(1)(d) and 4(3) that taxes are only incurred in the State where the company established its administrative seat. Consequently, as the State of formation rule developed by the ECJ determines the applicable corporate law, the choice of jurisdiction for corporate law purposes does not entail tax consequences, while on the other hand the tax relevant establishment of the administrative seat does not have an impact on the applicable corporate law either.
105. Pierre Mayer and Vincent Heuzé, Droit international privé, 7th edn. (Paris, Montchrestien 2001) pp. 685-686 at no. 1066.
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109. Brigitte Knobbe-Keuk, 'Niederlassungsfreiheit: Diskriminierungs- oder Beschränkungsverbot?' [Freedom of Establishment: Prohibition against Discrimination or Prohibition against Limitation?], 51/52 Der Betrieb (DB.) (1990) p. 2573 at p. 2578
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120. Arts. 31 and 34 of the Agreement on The European Economic Area, 5 May 1992, OJ 1994 L 1/3, 13.
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122. Cyrill Sele, Standortkonkurrenz zwischen Finanzplätzen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Off-shore Geschäfts - Der Fall Liechtenstein [Competition between Financial Centres with Special Regard to Off-shore Business - Liechtenstein's Case] (Bern, Paul Haupt 1995) p. 250.
123. Klaus Heine and Wolfgang Kerber, 'European Corporate Law, Regulatory Competition', 13 Eur. J. L. & Econ. (2002) p. 47 at pp. 60-61;
124. Adolf A. Berle and Gardiner C. Means, The modern corporation and private property (New York, MacMillan 1932).
125. Otto Friedrich von Gierke, Das deutsche Genossenschaftsrecht [German Cooperative Law] (Berlin, Weidmannsche Buchhandlung 1863- 1913).
126. Thomas Raiser, Mitbestimmungsgesetz [Codetermination Act] 4th edn. (Berlin, De Gruyter Recht 2002)
127. Anthony Ogus, 'The Economic Base of Legal Culture: Networks and Monopolization', 22 Oxford J. Legal Stud. (2002) p. 419 at pp. 420-421.
128. Alan Watson, Legal Transplants. An Approach to Comparative Law, 2nd edn. (1993);
129. Dan Berkowitz, Katharina Pistor and Jean-Francois Richard, 'The Transplant Effect', 51 Am. J. Comp. L. (2003) p. 163.
130. Susanne Riedemann, 'Das Auseinanderfallen von Gesellschafts- und Insolvenzstatut' [Divergence of Corporate and Insolvency Statutes], 54 GmbHR (2004) p. 345.
131. Luca Enriques, 'EC Company Law and the Fears of a European Delaware', 15 Eur. Bus. L. Rev. (2004) p. 1259 at p. 1265
132. Stefan Grundmann, 'Regulatory Competition in European Company Law - Some Different Genius', in Guido Ferrarini, Klaus Hopt and Eddy Wymeersch, eds., Capital Markets in the Age of the Euro - Cross-Border Transactions, Listed Companies and Regulation (The Hague, Kluwer Law International 2002) p. 561 at pp. 590-591
133. 18a Am. Jur. 2d Corporations § 158
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135. Gordon Moodie, 'Forty Years of Charter Competition: A Race to Protect Directors from Liability?', John M. Olin Center for Law, Economics and Business, Fellows' Discussion Paper Series No. 1 (April 2004) pp. 14-26, 34-52, available at: 〈http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/ olin-center/fellows-papers/pdf/Moodie-1.pdf〉
136. Stephan Rammeloo, 'Recognition of Foreign Companies in "Incorporation" Countries: A Dutch Perspective', in Jan Wouters and Hildegard Schneider, eds., Current Issues of Cross-Border Establishment of Companies in the European Union (Antwerpen/Apeldoorn, MAKLU 1995) p. 47 at pp. 58-61.
137. Arts. 22(2) and 23(5) of Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, OJ 2001 L 12/1, 8
138. F. Hodge O'Neal and Robert B. Thompson, O'Neal's Close Corporations, 3rd edn. (Chicago, Callaghan 1986) § 2.13.
139. Christian Kirchner, Richard W. Painter and Wulf Kaal, 'Legislatory Competition in EU Corporate Law after Inspire Art: Unbundling Delaware's Product for Europe', University of Illinois Law and Economics Research Paper No. LE04-001 (January 2004), available at: 〈http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=496395〉.
140. Richard Thomas, ed., Company Law in Europe (1992-) A[202]; B[24]; C[54]; D[34]; F[24]; H[10-20]; I[10]; J[24]; L[2]; M[25]; N[4]; P[72].
141. Société à Responsabilité Limitée in Art. 1 of Law No. 03-721 of 1 August 2003, J.O., 4 August 2003, p. 13449
142. 'Ein-Euro-GmbH soll erlaubt werden' [One Euro-GmbH to be allowed], Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (9 February 2005) p. 11.
143. § 5(1) Gesetz betreffend die Gesellschaften mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbHG.) [Limited Liability Company Act] v. 20.4.1892 (RGBl. S. 477) in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung [in the version of the proclamation of] v. 20.5.1898 (RGBl. S. 369, 846).
144. §§ 9c(1), 8(1) No. 5 GmbHG.
145. § 9 GmbHG.
146. § 9a GmbHG.
147. Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Zivilsachen (BGHZ.) [Decisions of the Supreme Civil Court] 80, 129, 140.
148. §§ 30, 31 GmbHG.
149. Hartwin von Gerkan and Peter Hommelhoff, eds., Handbuch des Kapitalersatzrechts [Compendium of the Law of Equity Substitution], 2nd edn. (Cologne, RWS Verlag 2002);
150. Herrmann-Josef Tries, Verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung im GmbH-Recht [Hidden Distribution of Profits in Limited Liability Company Law] (Cologne, Schmidt 1991).
151. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C.A. § 78a et seq. (2004);
152. Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C.A. § 77a et seq. (2004)
153. Clark D. Stith, 'Federalism and Company Law: A "Race to the Bottom" in the European Community', 79 Geo. L.J. (1991) p. 1581 at p. 1587
154. Hanno Merkt, 'Das Europäische Gesellschaftsrecht und die Idee des "Wettbewerbs der Gesetzgeber"' [European Corporate Law and the Idea of 'Regulatory Competition'], 59 Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht (RablesZ.) (1995) p. 545 at p. 558
155. Guhan Subramanian, 'The Influence of Antitakeover Statutes on Incorporation Choice: Evidence in the Race Debate and Antitakeover Overreaching', 150 U. Pa. L. Rev. (2002) p. 1795.
156. Lucian A. Bebchuk, 'A Rent Protection Theory of Corporate Ownership and Control', Nat'l Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 7203 (July 1999)
157. Rafael La Porta, et al., 'Legal Determinants of External Finance', 52 J. Fin. (1997) p. 1131
158. Rafael La Porta, et. al., 'Law and Finance', 106 J. Pol. Econ. (1998) p. 1113 (same);
159. Tobias Tröger, Treupflicht im Konzernrecht [Fiduciary Duties in the Law of Groups of Companies] (Cologne, Heymann 2000) pp. 210-213.
160. Marco Becht and Alisa Röell, 'Blockholding in Europe: An International Comparison', 43 Eur. Econ. Rev. (1999) p. 1049;
161. Julian Franks and Colin Mayer, 'Corporate Ownership and Control in the UK, Germany and France', in Donald H. Chew, ed., Studies in International Corporate Finance and Governance Systems (New York, Oxford University Press 1997) p. 281.
162. Raghuram G. Rajan and Luigi Zingales, 'The great reversals: the politics of financial developments of the twentieth century', 69 J. Fin. Econ. (2003) p. 5 at pp. 15-16
163. Mark J. Roe, Political Determinants of Corporate Governance (Oxford, Oxford University Press 2003) p. 130.
164. Gary Gorton and Frank A. Schmidt, 'Universal Banking and the Performance of German Firms', 58 J. Fin. Econ. (2000) p. 29.
165. Erik Berglöf and Mike Burkhard, 'European takeover regulation', 18 Econ. Pol'y (2003) p. 171 at pp. 176-77
166. Tim Jenkinson and Alexander Ljungqvist, 'The role of hostile stakes in German corporate governance', 7 J. Corp. Fin. (2001) p. 397 at pp. 432-445
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168. Hwa-Jin Kim, 'Markets, Financial Institutions, and Corporate Governance: Perspectives from Germany', 26 Law & Pol'y Int'l Bus. (1995) p. 371 at p. 384;
169. Mark G. Ribilotti, 'Recent Development: Codetermination, Stakeholder Rights, and Hostile Takeovers: A Reevaluation of the Evidence from Abroad', 38 Harv. Int'l L.J. (1997) p. 536 at p. 552.
170. Philippe Marini, La modernisation du droit des sociétés, Rapport au Premier Ministre (La Documentation Française 1996) p. 12.
171. Jeffrey N. Gordon, 'An International Relations Perspective on the Convergence of Corporate Governance: German Shareholder Capitalism and the European Union, 1990-2000', ECGI Working Paper No. 06/2003 (2003)
172. Henry Hansmann and Reinier Kraakman, 'The End of History for Corporate Law', 89 Geo. L.J. (2001) p. 439.
173. Lucian A. Bebchuk and Mark J. Roe, 'A Theory of Path Dependence in Corporate Ownership and Governance', 52 Stan. L. Rev. (1999) p. 127
174. Klaus J. Hopt, 'Gemeinsame Grundsätze der Corporate Governance in Europa' [Common Principles of Corporate Governance in Europe?], 29 ZGR (2000) p. 19 at pp. 798- 809
175. ECJ, Case 79/85 D.H.M. Segers v. Bestuur van de Bedrijfsvereniging voor Bank- en Verzekeringswezen, Groothandel en Vrije Beroepen [1986] ECR 2375 at para. 16;
176. Case C-212/97 Centros Ltd. v. Erhvervs- og Selskabsstyrelsen [1999] ECR I-1459 at para. 29;
177. Case C-167/01 Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v. Inspire Art Ltd. [2003] ECR I-10155 at para. 139.
178. Art. 2 of Eleventh Council Directive 89/666/EEC of 21 December 1989 concerning disclosure requirements in respect of branches opened in a Member State by certain types of company governed by the law of another State, OJ 1989 L 395/36
179. § 2(1)(1) GmbHG.
180. Geoffrey Morse, ed., Palmer's Company Law (London, Sweet & Maxwell 1992-) 2.802,
181. Geoffrey Morse, et al., Charlesworth & Morse Company Law (London, Sweet & Maxwell 1999) pp. 56-57.
182. § 30(1) GmbHG.
183. The new Italian Limited Liability Company Act contains a provision explicitly dealing with equity substituting shareholder loans in a manner quite similar to German doctrine. Cf. Art. 2467 of the Codice civile [Civil Code].
184. High Level Group of Company Law Experts, A Modern Regulatory Framework for Company Law in Europe (4 November 2002) pp. 86-89, available at: 〈http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal -market/en/company/company/modern/consult/report-en.pdf〉).
185. Arts. 3(1) and 4(1) of Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings, OJ 2000 L 160/1, 5-6
186. In Re Produce Marketing Consortium Ltd. (No. 2) [1989] BCLC 520.
187. Mathias Habersack and Dirk A. Verse, 'Wrongful Trading - Grundlagen einer europäischen Insolvenzverschleppungshaftung?' [Wrongful Trading - Groundwork for a European Liability for Delaying Insolvency Proceedings?], 168 Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handels- und Wirtschaftsrecht (ZHR.) (2004) p. 174 at pp. 187-188
188. Under English law, the court has to issue a disqualification order in the case of an unfit director (s. 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986). It can make such an order under various circumstances with regard to indictable offences in connection with the promotion, formation, management or liquidation of a company (s. 2(1)), fraudulent and wrongful trading (s. 10), persistent default in complying with company law provisions that require returns, accounts or documents to be filed with the registrar or notice to be given to him (s. 3(1)) and conviction of summary offences consisting in a failure to comply with company law provisions that require a return, etc., to be filed with the registrar or notice to be given to him (s. 5). Moreover, under certain conditions, the Secretary of State may initiate proceedings leading up to a disqualification order of the High Court or the Court of Session if he or she deems the disqualification to be in the public interest (s. 8). A German close limited liability company director (GmbH Geschäftsführer) can only be recalled by a majority vote of the shareholder assembly, §§ 38(1) and 46 Nr. 5 GmbHG. The charter may alter this competence (e.g. empower an individual shareholder) and the majority requirement. Codetermination laws confer this authority on the supervisory board, § 31 Gesetz über die Mitbestimmung der Arbeitnehmer (MitbestG.) [Codetermination Act] v. 4.5.1976 (BGBl. I S. 1153); § 12 Gesetz über die Mitbestimmung der Arbeitnehmer in den Aufsichtsräten und Vorständen der Unternehmen des Bergbaus und der Eisen und Stahl erzeugenden Industrie (MontanMitbestG.) [Mining and Steel Codetermination Act] v. 21.5.1951 (BGBl. I S. 347); § 13 Gesetz zur Ergänzung des Gesetzes über die Mitbestimmung der Arbeitnehmer in den Aufsichtsräten und Vorständen der Unternehmen des Bergbaus und der Eisen und Stahl erzeugenden Industrie (MontanMitbestErgG.) [Mining and Steel Codetermination Supplement Act] v. 7.8.1956 (BGBl. I S. 707). Autonomously initiated court interference, however, is only conceivable under far more severe circumstances than the ones leading to disqualification of English directors, for example in case of a criminal conviction for a felony commited with regard to insolvency proceedings, cf. §6(2) GmbHG.
189. Art. 3 of Eleventh Council Directive 89/666/EEC of 21 December 1989 concerning disclosure requirements in respect of branches opened in a Member State by certain types of company governed by the law of another State, OJ 1989 L 395/36, 38.
190. Bodo Riegger, 'Centros - Überseering - Inspire Art: Folgen für die Praxis' [Centros - Überseering - Inspire Art: Consequences in Practice], 33 ZGR (2004) p. 510 at p. 517.
191. Landgericht Koblenz, 53 GmbHR (2003) p. 1213.
192. Cf. Arts. 5(1), 7(1) and 23(1) of Third Council Directive 78/855/EEC of 9 October 1978 based on Article 54 (3) (g) of the Treaty concerning mergers of public limited liability companies, OJ 1978 L 295/36
193. Arts. 3-6 of the Cross-Border Merger Directive.
194. The European Commission, Public consultation related to the outline of the planned proposal for a 14th Company Law Directive on the cross-border transfer of the registered office of limited companies, available at: 〈http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal-market/company/seattransfer/2004-consult-en.htm〉.
195. Roberta Romano, 'The Shareholder Suit: Litigation without Foundation?', 7 J. L. Econ. & Org. (1991) p. 55;
196. Daniel R. Fischel and Michael Bradley, 'The Role of Liability Rules and the Derivative Suit in Corporate Law: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis', 71 Cornell L. Rev. (1986) p. 261.
197. Tobias Tröger, 'Deutsches und Europäisches Übernahmerecht' [German and European Takeover Law], in Dietrich Dörner, et al., eds., Reform des Aktienrechts, der Rechnungslegung und der Prüfung [Reform of Stock Corporations Law, Submission of Accounts and Auditing], 2nd edn. (Stuttgart, Schäffer-Poeschel 2003) p. 135 at pp. 138-139 and 165-166.
198. Lucian A. Bebchuk, John C. Coates, IV and Guhan Subramanian, 'The Powerful Antitakeover Force of Staggered Boards: Theory, Evidence and Policy', 54 Stan. L. Rev. (2002) p. 887 at p. 900.
199. Eddy Wymeersch, 'Current Company Law Reform Initiatives in the OECD Countries - Challenges and Opportunities', Financial Law Institute Working Paper No. 2001-04 (February 2001) pp. 30-36, available at: 〈http://ssrn.com/abstract=273869〉.
200. Herbert Wiedemann, 'Codetermination by Workers in German Enterprises', 28 Am. J. Comp. L. (1980) p. 79 at pp. 79-81.
201. Katharina Pistor, 'Codetermination: A Sociopolitical Model with Governance Externalities', in Margaret M. Blair and Mark J. Roe, eds., Employees and Corporate Governance (Washington, D.C., Brookings Institution Press 1999) pp. 163-193.
202. Ronald J. Gilson, 'Globalizing Corporate Governance: Convergence of Form or Function', 49 Am. J. Comp. L. (2001) p. 329 at pp. 352-353.
203. § 311(1) AktG.
204. Sterling v. Mayflower Hotel Corp., 93 A.2d 107, 109-110 (Del. 1952);
205. Jones v. Missouri-Edison Electrical Co., 144 F. 765, 777 (8th Cir. 1906);
206. May v. Midwest Refining Co., 121 F.2d 431, 439 (1st Cir. 1941).
207. §§ 312-314 AktG.
208. Bruno Kropff, 'Vor § 311 Rdnr. 23-29', in Bruno Kropff and Johannes Semler, eds., Münchener Kommentar zum Aktiengesetz, Band 8 [Munich Commentary on the Stock Corporation Act, Vol. 8], 2nd edn. (Munich, Beck 2000).
209. Although the critique of the law of groups of companies is old, empirical data is largely lacking, making it impossible to determine the actual detrimental impact of the regulation.
210. Jonathan R. Macey and Geoffrey P. Miller, 'Toward an Interest Group Theory of Delaware Corporation Law', 65 Tex. L. Rev. (1987) p. 469 at p. 493;
211. David A. Charny, 'Competition among Jurisdictions in Formulating Corporate Law Rules: An American Perspective on the "Race to the Bottom" in the European Communities', 32 Harv. Int'l. L.J. (1991) p. 423 at p. 428.
212. Terence L. Blackburn, 'The Unification of Corporate Laws: The United States, the European Community and the Race to Laxity', 3 Geo. Mason Indep. L. Rev. (1995) p. 1 at pp. 89-91
213. Curtis Alva, 'Delaware and the Market for Corporate Charters: History and Agency', 15 Del. J. Corp. L. (1990) p. 885
214. Leo Herzel and Laura D. Richman, 'Delaware's Preeminence by Design', in R. Franklin Balotti and Jesse A. Finkelstein, eds., The Delaware Law of Corporations and Business Organizations, 3rd edn. (New York, Aspen Publishers 1998) F-I, F-2
215. With regard to numbers of citizens, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Malta are smaller than Delaware (which has a population of 783,600 citizens according to the 2000 census, available at: 〈http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsTab le?-lang=en&-vt-name=DEC-2000-PL-U-QTPL&-geo-id=04000US10〉 (last visited 2 June 2004).
216. Roger Kiem, 'Das Centros-Urteil des Europäischen Gerichtshofs - Praktische Gestaltungs- und Reaktionsmöglichkeiten aus dem Blickwinkel der Gesellschaften' [The Centros Judgment of the European Court of Justice - Possibilities of Practical Design and Reaction from the Companies' Perspective], in Gesellschaftsrechtliche Vereinigung, ed., Gesellschaftsrecht in der Diskussion 1999 [Corporate Law in the Discussion 1999] (Cologne, Schmidt 2000) p. 199 at pp. 210-214.
217. Jens Christian Dammann, 'The US Concept of Granting Corporations Free Choice among State Corporate Law Regimes as a Model for the European Community', SSRN Electronic Paper Collection (4 August 2003) p. 92, available at: 〈http://ssrn.com/abstract= 418660〉.
218. Alfred F. Conrad, 'The European Alternative to Uniformity in Corporation Laws', 89 Mich. L. Rev. (1990-1991) p. 2150 at p. 2194.
219. Statec, 'Luxembourg in figures', available at: 〈http://www.statec.lu/html-de/statistiques/ luxembourg-en-chiffres/index.html〉.
220. State of Delaware, Office of the Budget, Governor's Recommended Budget, Fiscal Year 2005, Financial Summary 2, available at: 〈http://www.state.de.us/budget/budget/fy2005/operat ing/05opfinsumcharts.pdf〉.
221. Brian R. Cheffins, Company Law: Theory, Structure and Operation (Oxford, Clarendon 1997) pp. 426-430.
222. Elvin R. Latty, 'Pseudo-Foreign Corporations', 65 Yale L. J. (1955) p. 137, 166, n. 130
223. Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, 6th edn. (London, Issuing Houses Association 2000) p. A8.
224. David S. Schaffer, Jr., 'Delaware's Limit on Director Liability: How the Market for Incorporation Shapes Corporate Law', 10 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y (1987) p. 665 at pp. 684- 685
225. the Wertpapiererwerbs- und Übernahmegesetz [Tender Offer and Takeovers Act] v. 20.12.2001 (BGBl. I S. 3822)
226. Viertes Finanzmarktförderungsgesetz [Fourth Financial Market Promotion Act] v. 21.6.2002 (BGBl. I S. 2010).
227. Transparenz- und Publizitätsgesetz [Transparency and Publicity Act] v. 19.7.2002 (BGBl. I S. 2681)
228. Gesetz zur Kontrolle und Transparenz im Unternehmensbereich [Control and Transparency Act] v. 4.3.1998 (BGBl. I S. 786).
229. Friederich Kübler, 'A German Perspective on Institutional Investors and Corporate Governance', in Theodor Baums, Richard M. Buxbaum and Klaus J. Hopt, eds., Institutional Investors and Corporate Governance (Berlin, De Gruyter 1994) p. 565
230. Article 59, second paragraph, with respect to company structure and to the power and responsibilities of company boards, COM (1972) 887 final, OJ 1972 C 131/49
231. The first initiative leading to the SE Regulation was taken in 1970 with the Proposal for a Council Regulation Embodying a Statute for the European Company, COM (1970) 600 final, OJ 1970 C 124/1.
232. ECJ, Case C-376/98 Federal Republic of Germany v. European Parliament and Council of the European Union [2000] ECR I-8419 (Directive 98/43/EC - Advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products);
233. Case C-491/01 The Queen v. Secretary of State for Health, ex parte British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. [2002] ECR I-11453 (pertaining to the limits of Art. 95 EC)
234. Werner F. Ebke, 'The "Real Seat" Doctrine in the Conflict of Corporate Laws', 36 Int'l Law. (2002) p. 1015 at pp. 1027-1029.
235. Cal. Corp. Code § 2115 (2004) and N.Y. Bus. Corp. Law §§ 1317-1320 (2004).
236. Lewis D. Solomon, et al., Corporations: Law and Policy, 3rd edn. (St. Paul, MN, West 1994) p. 206;
237. Deborah A. DeMott, 'Perspectives on Choice of Law for Corporate Internal Affairs', 48 L. & Contemp. Probs. (1985) p. 161 at pp. 164-166
238. Mansfield Hardwood Lumber Co. v. Johnson, 268 F. 2d 317 (5th Cir. 1959)
239. Detlev F. Vagts, 'Extraterritoriality and the Corporate Governance Law', 97 Am. J. Int'l L. (2003) p. 289 at p. 293
240. ECJ, Case C-55/95 Reinhard Gebhard v. Consiglio dell' Ordine degli Avvocati e Procuratori di Milano {1995] ECR I-4165.
241. Richard M. Buxbaum and Klaus J. Hopt, Legal Harmonization and the Business Enterprise: Corporate and Capital Market Harmonization Policy in Europe and the USA (Berlin, De Gruyter 1988) p. 174.
242. ECJ, Case C-167/01 Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v. Inspire Art Ltd. [2003] ECR I-10155, at paras. 135, 140
243. Article 58 of the Treaty, in respect of the formation of public limited liability companies and the maintenance and alteration of their capital, with a view to making such safeguards equivalent, OJ 1977 L 26/1, 7
244. ECJ, Case C-42/95 Siemens AG v. Henry Nold [1996] ECR I-6017
245. Luca Enriques and Jonathan R. Macey, 'Creditors versus Capital Formation: The Case against the European Legal Capital Rules', 86 Cornell L. Rev. (2001) p. 1165
246. Wolfgang Schön, 'Wer schützt den Kapitalschutz?' [Who Protects Capital Protection?], 166 ZHR (2002) p. 1.
247. Stock Corporation Act (§§ 302, 303 AktG).
248. Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Zivilsachen (BGHZ) [Decisions of the Supreme Civil Court] 95, 330, 334-335 (Autokran); BGHZ 115, 187 (Video); BGHZ 122, 123 (TBB.).
249. BGHZ 149, 10, 13 (Bremer Vulkan);
250. BGHZ 151, 181 (KBV.).
251. Wolfgang Schön, 'Zur "Existenzvernichtung"der juristischen Person' [On the 'destruction' of the legal person], 168 ZHR (2004) p. 268 at pp. 290-296.
252. Robert C. Clark, Corporate Law (Boston, Mass., Little, Brown and Co. 1986) pp. 52-54;
253. William T. Allen and Reinier Kraakman, Commentaries and Cases on the Law of Business Organizations (New York, Aspen Publishers 2003) p. 141.
254. Art. 3(1) and Recital 13 of the Preamble of Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings, OJ 2000 L 160/1, 2, 5
255. Wulf-Henning Roth, 'Case Note', 37 Common Mkt. L. Rev. (2000) p. 147 at p. 155;
256. Simon Deakin, 'Book Review', 33 Indus. L.J. (2003) p. 92 at p. 93
257. Jan Wouters, 'Private International Law and Companies' Freedom of Establishment', 2 Eur. Bus. Org. L. Rev (2001) p. 101 at p. 134
258. Walther Rathenau, Vom Aktienwesen [On The Nature of Stocks] (Berlin, Fischer 1917).
259. William T. Allen, 'Our Schizophrenic Conception of the Business Corporation', 14 Cardozo L. Rev. (1992) p. 261.
260. Art. 14 of the Cross-Border Merger Directive; Art. 7 and Part 3 of the Annex of Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001 supplementing the Statute for a European Company with regard to the involvement of employees, OJ 2001 L 294/22, 27, 31-32
261. Bernhard Großfeld and Susanne Erlinghagen, 'Internationales Unternehmensrecht und deutsche unternehmerische Mitbestimmung' [International Company Law and German Entrepreneurial Codetermination], 48 Juristen Zeitung (JZ.) (1993) p. 217 at p. 222
262. Curt Christian von Halen, 'Das internationale Gesellschaftsrecht nach dem Überseering-Urteil des EuGH' [Conflict of Corporate Laws after the ECJ's Überseering Judgment], 57 Wertpapier- Mitteilungen (WM.) (2003) p. 571 at p. 577 (same);
263. Helge Großerichter, 'Ausländische Kapitalgesellschaften im deutschen Rechtsraum: Das deutsche Internationale Gesellschaftsrecht und seine Perspektiven nach der Entscheidung "Überseering"' [Foreign Corporations in German Conflict of Corporate Laws and its Perspectives after the Überseering Judgment], 41 Deutsches Steuerrecht (DStR.) (2003) p. 159 at p. 169 (same).
264. Christine Windbichler and Gregor Bachmann, 'Corporate governance und Mitbestimmung als "wirtschaftsrechtlicher ordre public"' [Corporate governance and codetermination as 'business law ordre public'], in Harm Peter Westermann and Klaus Mock, eds., Festschrift für Gerold Bezzenberger zum 70. Geburtstag (Berlin, De Gruyter 2000) p. 797 at pp. 803-804
265. Christian Kirchner, et al., 'Berliner Netzwerk Corporate Governance: 12 Thesen zur "Modernisierung der Mitbestimmung"' [Berlin Corporate Governance Network: 12 Theses regarding the 'Modernisation of Codetermination'] (5 December 2003), available at: 〈http://www.bccg.tu-berlin.de/main/ publikationen/12-Thesen-Papier.pdf〉.
266. Margaret M. Blair and Lynn A. Stout, 'A Team Production Theory of Corporate Law', 85 Va. L. Rev. (1999) p. 247.
267. Horst Eidenmüller, 'Wettbewerb der Gesellschaftsrechte in Europa' [Competition of Corporate Laws in Europe], 23 Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht (ZIP.) (2002) p. 2233 at p. 2243
268. Erich Schanze and Andreas Jüttner, 'Anerkennung und Kontrolle ausländischer Gesellschaften - Rechtslage und Perspektiven nach der Überseering-Entscheidung des EuGH' [Recognition and Control of Foreign Companies - Legal Position and Perspectives after the Überseering Judgment of the ECJ], 48 Die Aktiengesellschaft (AG.) (2003) p. 30 at p. 35
269. Group of Experts, European Systems of Worker Involvement, Final Report (May 1997) available at: 〈http://europa.eu.int/comm/ employment- social/labour-law/docs/davignonreport-en.pdf〉).
270. Reality belies the ceremonially optimistic words of the regulation's preamble according to which '[t]he provisions of such a Regulation will permit the creation and management of companies with a European dimension, free from obstacles arising from the disparity and the limited territorial application of national company law', Recital 7 of the Preamble of the SE Regulation.
271. The corporate governance structure under the alternatively available (Art. 38(b) of the SE Regulation) single or two-tier board system is only rudimentarily outlined, requiring constant references to the rules promulgated in the Member State of the registered office (Arts. 39-45 of the SE Regulation). Other significant instances illustrating the SE Regulation's need of completion by national laws are the powers delegated to the shareholder meeting (Art. 52), directors liability (Art. 51) and the standard rules for employee participation when the prior negotiations on the subject fail (Art. 7 and Part 3 of the Annex of the SE Employee Participation Directive).
272. Luca Enriques, 'Silence Is Golden: The European Company Statute as a Catalyst for Company Law Arbitrage', European Corporate Governance Institute Working Paper No. 07/2003 (2003).
273. Art. 7 of the SE Regulation. The interpretation becomes evident when looking at the other official languages that use terms like administration centrale, administración central, Hauptverwaltung.
274. Janet Dine and Paul Hughes, EC Company Law 10 (Bristol, Jordans 2002).
275. John Carreyrou, Anita Raghavan and Gautam Naik, 'In Face of French Resistance, Swiss Giant Enters Takeover Fray', Wall St. J. (23 April 2004) p. 1.
276. Adriaan Dorresteijn, Ina Kuiper and Geoffrey Morse, European Corporate Law (New York, Aspen Publishers 1995) pp. 37-66.
277. Stefan Grundmann, Europäisches Gesellschaftsrecht [European Corporate Law] (Heidelberg, Müller 2004).
278. Charlotte Villiers, European Company Law - Towards Democracy? (Aldershot, Ashgate/Dartmouth 1998) pp. 28-48.
279. Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1978 based on Article 54 (3) (g) of the Treaty on the annual accounts of certain types of companies, OJ 1978 L 222/11-31.
280. Seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983 based on the Article 54 (3) (g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts, OJ 1983 L 193/1-17.
281. Article 58 of the Treaty, with a view to making such safeguards equivalent throughout the Community, OJ 1968 L 65/8-12.
282. Art. 12 of Directive 2004/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on takeover bids, OJ 2004 L 142/12.
283. Roberta Romano, 'Empowering Investors: A Market Approach to Securities Regulation', 107 Yale L.J. (1998) p. 2359
284. Roberta Romano, The Advantage of Competitive Federalism for Securities Regulation (Washington, AEI Press 2002)
285. Stephen J. Choi and Andrew T. Guzman, 'The Dangerous Extraterritoriality of American Securities Law', 17 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. (1996) p. 207 at p. 231;
286. Stephen J. Choi and Andrew T. Guzman, 'Portable Reciprocity: Rethinking the International Reach of Securities Regulation', 71 S. Cal. L. Rev. (1998) p. 903
287. Frederick Tung, 'Lost in Translation: From US Corporate Charter Competition to Issuer Choice in International Securities Regulation', Loyola-LA Public Law Research Paper No. 2004-8 (8 March 2004), available at: 〈http://ssrn.com/abstract=515088〉.
288. Stephen Woolcock, 'Competition among Rules in the Single European Market', in William W. Bratton, et al., eds., International Regulatory Competition and Coordination - Perspectives on Economic Regulation in Europe and the United States (Oxford, Clarendon Press 1996) p. 289 at p. 298.