The Law Of Companies

The fourth edition of the leading company law textbook, provides the most authoritative and comprehensive commentary on Irish company law following the commencement of the Companies Act 2014. The Companies Act 2014 makes the most far-reaching and fundamental changes to Irish company law in two generations, putting forward a radically different approach whereby the private company limited by shares will become the new model company. The structure of the fourth edition of this highly regarded title mirrors this new Act. The Act comprises over 1,448 Parts and represents the modern statement of the law applicable to the formation of companies, administration and management to their winding up and dissolution, incorporating the rights and duties of their officers, members and creditors. The Act commences on 1 June 2015 and introduces significant changes for companies operating in Ireland. This work has been expanded and revised to account for these legislative changes and important case law. As chairperson of the Company Law Review Group, whose recommendations greatly informed the new Act and as a leading practitioner of company law, Tom Courtney has a unique insight to the new legislation, its purpose and interpretation.The fourth edition is virtually a complete re-write and at approximately 2,900 pages it is some 400 pages longer than the last edition. Fully updated to take account of the dozens of judgments from the Irish and UK courts that have been delivered since the previous edition as well as the new statutory provisions, the fourth edition of The Law of Companies is a 'must have' for all practitioners, students and users of Irish company law.

The structure of the third edition of this highly regarded title mirrors Ireland's forthcoming Companies (Amendment) Bill, which will hold significant changes for companies operating in Ireland. The book has been expanded and revised to account for changes in legislation and important case law. The Law of Companies is now expanded to include a comprehensive treatment of PLCs, SEs, guarantee companies, unlimited companies, external companies, and branches.

Whether the corporate form is used to avoid liabilities or cover illegal acts, or whether abuse is practised to obtain certain advantages, the subject of this first-ever in-depth survey and analysis garners more attention every day – both in legal literature and in popular media. Taken together, the authoritative contributions in this book clearly and comprehensively reveal typical situations where abuse may take place and how company law and other areas of law have tackled these incidents and practices in a variety of key jurisdictions. Focusing on Europe but with global implications, the topics raised include the following: how group structures may be used by multinational enterprises to escape regulation and avoid taxation; whether the decision to incorporate a company in a particular jurisdiction may be abusive; companies set up for the purpose of money laundering; letterbox companies formed as a front to allow a company to benefit from one legal regime and avoid others; ex post transfers of seats such as cross-border mergers and conversions; when the use of phoenix companies may constitute an abuse of the corporate form; how corporate mobility is used to circumvent worker participation; and how online company formation and technological innovation may foster abuse. This book helps to explain how the line is drawn between abuse and (creative) use of the corporate form. Remedies covered include restricting the use of bearer shares, setting minimum capital requirements, piercing the corporate veil, ensuring transparency of beneficial ownership, using insolvency law to lodge claims against directors and shareholders and recover assets, and applying the general principle prohibiting abuse. There is no other book on the market focusing on abuse of companies and giving such a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Practitioners will get guidelines on how to avoid becoming involved in activities that may constitute abuse and how to address instances where abuse has occurred, and interested academics, legislators, and enforcement authorities in Europe and beyond will find this book’s perspectives invaluable.

This book advances a real entity theory of company law, in which the company is a legal entity which acts autonomously in law, and company law establishes procedures facilitating autonomous organisational decision-making. The theory builds on the insight that organisations or firms are a social phenomenon outside of the law and that these are autonomous actors in their own right. They are more than the sum of the contributions of their participants and they act independently of the views and interests of their participants. This occurs because human beings change their behaviour when they act as members of a group or an organisation; in a group we tend to develop and conform to a shared standard, and when we act in organisations habits, routines, processes, and procedures form and a culture emerges. These take on a life of their own affecting the behaviour of the participants. Participants can affect organisational behaviour but this takes time and effort. Company law finds this phenomenon and supplies it with a structure supporting autonomous action by organisations. The real entity theory advanced in this book explains company law as it stands at a positive level. Legal personality overcomes the problems that organisations are social rather than brute facts and that there is no unique physical manifestation permanently associated with an organisation. The corporate constitution is not a contract - it is best characterised as an instrument adopted on a statutory basis through private action. Shareholders cannot limit the capacity of companies or the authority of the board to bind the company in contract and companies are liable in tort and crime. The statute creates roles for shareholders, directors, a company secretary, and auditors and so facilitates a process leading to organisational action. The law also integrates the interests of creditors and stakeholders.

This book presents a comprehensive study on how twenty-three countries have approached the issue of company groups. In addition to detailed profiles of each country’s legislation, written by some of the most respected experts in the field, the book also presents a general overview and offers readers an in-depth, up-to-date and highly practical comparative analysis of the company group phenomenon in connection with national legal regimes. As such, the book is a must-read for all those seeking a deeper understanding of how company groups are viewed and regulated around the globe.

The second edition of Critical Company Law provides a framework in which to understand how the company functions in society and a thorough grounding in modern legal doctrine. It shows how modern company law is shaped by a multi-layered history of politics, ideology, economics and power. Through the lens of political economic theory the book shows how the company becomes the mechanism through which the state makes political choices about distributing societies’ wealth and through which it responds to economic crises. The current law reflects an economy marked by a disjuncture between the low profits of the productive economy and the high profits of the finance economy. Critical Company Law examines areas of company law to show how they reflect a fragile economy inexorably drawn to social and economic inequality and short-termism. These include: • The Doctrine of Separate Corporate Personality • Groups of Companies and Tort Liabilities • Company Formation and the Constitution • Directors’ Duties and Authority • Corporate Capacity • Shares and Shareholders • Raising and Maintaining Capital • Minority Protection In this uniquely hybrid book the legal topics are treated with detail and clarity, providing an engaging introduction to the key topics required for a student of company law.

Companies Act 2014 will comprise all key primary, secondary and European legislation relevant to company law practitioners in Ireland. Each relevant piece of legislation is accompanied by a commentary to assist practitioners in interpreting the legislation. The consolidation and redrafting of the Companies Acts 1963-2012 will usher in significant changes to Irish company law practitioners in Ireland who will be able to bring themselves up to speed with the new Act's provision via this essential title. The annotations will provide incisive commentary on each section to aid practitioners, assisting with any problems that a large scale legislation change can potentially cause, and also address any issues that have arisen since its enactment.