Plague, war, famine and death: the 2020s have so far been marked by the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Everywhere, the greatest toll has fallen on those most vulnerable, causing terrible damage to human development across the world. Yet, as we argue in our new paper, which will lead a special issue of the
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The Nature of Stakeholder Capitalism and the Role of Corporate Law: Proposed Amendments to Chapter 2 of the Companies Act 2006
In a recent contribution to the European Corporate Governance Institute Blog (the ‘ECGI Blog’), ‘The Nature of Stakeholder Capitalism and the Role of Corporate Law: A Brief Response to Colin Mayer’s Blog’, I suggested that if stakeholder capitalism were to be reconceptualized to reflect a form of beneficial social ownership of capital by stakeholders…
Tidying the Muddled Indian Jurisprudence of Group of Companies Doctrine through Arbitral Estoppel
The Indian jurisprudence on binding non-signatories to an arbitration agreement has seen significant development over the years, starting from the decision in Indowind Energy v Wescare (I) Ltd, where the Supreme Court refused to lift the corporate veil and bind non-signatories to an arbitration agreement, to Chloro Controls v Severn Trent, where the…
Shareholder Proposals and Boards’ Veto Power
Most major jurisdictions in the world allow shareholders of listed companies to submit proposals to the agenda of the general meeting subject to two categories of constraints, the respect of which is usually controlled by the board of directors: formal capital ownership requirements, on one hand, and conditions relating to the purpose of the proposal,…
Pledge invocation and the Takeover Code in India: time for a change?
The Indian Supreme Court’s judgment in PTC India Financial Services Limited v. Venkateswarlu Kari & Another (May 2022) (the ‘Judgment’) sets out to clarify contentious issues surrounding the invocation of pledges. This post does not seek to add to the fairly extensive body of literature that has built up on the judgment: instead, it examines…
No Need for Asia to be Woke: Contextualizing Anglo-America’s ‘Discovery’ of Corporate Purpose
In 2018, Colin Mayer, a stalwart of the British Academy, published Prosperity. The book is the new ‘bible’ of corporate governance that ‘is destined to change the world’, says Martin Lipton, a prolific prophet for America’s white-shoe lawyers. The book’s revelation is that corporations should no longer be governed for the sole purpose…
The Safety of Autonomous Vehicles – Fake News?
In June 2022, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (‘NHTSA’) ordered an investigation of Tesla affecting no fewer than 830,000 vehicles across all product lines. The agency is responsible, among other things, for the safety of motor vehicles licensed for use on public roads. The investigation of Tesla concerns its driving software called ‘Autopilot’.…
Actio Pauliana and Divisions: Striking the Balance in Creditors’ Protection
This post looks into the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in case C – 394/18, ‘IGI’, and discusses the question of whether national legislators are (or should be) allowed under EU company law to introduce additional protective measures, such as an actio pauliana, for creditors of companies undertaking…
Notice to Authors and Readers
The OBLB will take a publishing pause between July 29 and August 31 for the European summer holidays. When we start publishing again, we expect this will be on a ‘new look’ website that the Oxford Law Faculty is moving on to. Please bear with us in the event of any transitional issues. For ease of reference…
Could UBS Dodge a $2 Billion Tax Penalty By Taking France to Arbitration?
In December 2021, UBS AG Group appealed to the French Supreme Court a verdict of the Paris Court of Appeal that ordered the Swiss bank to pay €1.8 billion ($2 billion) in penalties for soliciting French clients to open bank accounts in Switzerland, allegedly for evading taxes. The main penalty breaks down into €800 million…