Corporate group – Page 3 – Corporate Finance Lab

Can directors be employees?

Can directors be employees? An array of answers are possible. A director may accept to perform the duties resulting from company law and the statutes of association by entering into eg a management contract, an agency agreement, or an employment contract. The diversity of plausible answers also impacts on EU private international law, as the applicability of the protective rules on jurisdiction in matters relating to employment contracts, contained in Art 18 et seq of the Brussels I Regulation Recast, depends on whether a relationship can be characterised as a ‘matter relating to an individual contract of employment’. At stake are among other things (1) the option of the director to sue the company in the courts of the place where he is domiciled, and (2) whether the company is restricted to pursue its actions against the director in the courts of the director’s domicile.

In his Opinion in C-603/17 EU:C:2019:65 Bosworth ea v Arcadia Petroleum ea, AG Saugmandsgaard Øe clarified the position of directors of a company in respect of the rules of jurisdiction applicable to employment contracts.

‘Enterprise liability’ for entities of a group?

Allowing creditors of one member of a corporate group to pierce horizontally to reach the assets of other members

Belgian private law is traditionally very distrustful of asset partitioning in the shape of both owner shielding and entity shielding. It has inherited from the 19^th century French doctrine (Aubry & Rau) the idea that: (i) only persons have an estate; and (ii) every person has only one estate. An ‘estate’ (‘vermogen’ / ‘patrimoine’) is a pool of assets which serves as collateral for a pool of liabilities. Accordingly, the traditional théorie du patrimoine entails that a person cannot have separate pools of assets which serve as collateral for separate pools of liabilities. This theory betrays a strong distrust of asset partitioning, both internal and external.

In the beginning of the 19^th century the rule ‘one person, one and only one estate’ was generally understood as referring to natural persons. The incorporation of legal persons, particularly of legal persons with owner shielding (limited liability), was exceptional and restricted. It was limited to certain types of activities and subject to governmental authorization. As a result, the 19^th century doctrine of ‘one person, one and only one estate’, while at face value barely modified, presently has completely different practical consequences. Presently a natural person can easily incorporate, control and benefit from, one or more legal persons.

This raises the important question: Why is the traditional animus against asset partitioning not an issue, or less so, in case the technique of the corporate form with legal personality is used to bring about such asset partitioning? Continue reading “‘Enterprise liability’ for entities of a group?”

Restructuring of Corporate Groups: Conference on Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law

The European Law Institute (ELI) and Business and Liability Research Network (BLRN) of the Leiden Law School organise a conference on restructuring of corporate groups in the afternoon of 5 December 2018. ELI’s Business Rescue Report of Prof. Em. Bob Wessels and Prof. Stephan Madaus is the starting point for discussions on the treatment of insolvent corporate groups.

Bob Wessels (Leiden University) and Stephan Madaus (Halle-Wittenberg University, Germany) will introduce the ELI Business Rescue Report and the results of this European study with respect to restructuring of corporate groups in Europe. Prof. Joeri Vananroye (KU Leuven, Belgium) will discuss Belgian perspectives on corporate restructuring and Prof. Reinout Vriesendorp will elaborate on issues of director’s liability. Leiden Law School researchers Jessie Pool, Ilya Kokorin and Gert-Jan Boon will present a case study on corporate groups.

ELI Business Rescue Report

Continue reading “Restructuring of Corporate Groups: Conference on Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law”

Schuldeisers tegen uitkeringen en bevoordeling bij rechtspersonen

Lab rat Gillis Lindemans verdedigt op 29 oktober aan de KU Leuven zijn proefschrift: “Actio pauliana: remedie met toekomst voor schuldeisers van rechtspersonen”. Meer info vindt u hier. In deze post krijgt u alvast een voorsmaakje.

Als een schuldenaar zijn schuld niet betaalt, dan kan de schuldeiser beslag leggen op zijn goederen. Holt de schuldenaar zijn vermogen uit, dan dus ook het onderpand van zijn schuldeiser. De schuldeiser heeft daartegen een krachtige remedie: de actio pauliana. De schuldeiser kan daarmee rechtshandelingen aanvechten waarmee zijn schuldenaar hem bewust of bedrieglijk benadeelt.

Het lijkt daarbij van geen belang of de schuldenaar een natuurlijke persoon of een rechtspersoon is. Nochtans scheppen rechtspersonen een bijzonder risico.

Continue reading “Schuldeisers tegen uitkeringen en bevoordeling bij rechtspersonen”

The regulatory competition continues: ook het Britse vennootschaps- en insolventierecht staat niet stil

Het antwoord van de Britse regering

Op 26 augustus 2018 heeft de Britse regering (the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) haar antwoord gepubliceerd op de consultatieronde over insolventie en corporate governance die eerder dit jaar (maart 2018) werd gelanceerd om het Britse vennootschaps- en insolventierecht aantrekkelijk te houden (zie daarover reeds hier). Het antwoorddocument vat de ontvangen commentaren samen en geeft de stappen weer die de Britse regering in de nabije toekomst wilt nemen. Daarnaast bevat het document een antwoord van de regering op de Review of the Corporate Insolvency Framework dat reeds werd gepubliceerd in mei 2016.

In wat volgt geven we een korte opsomming van de te ondernemen stappen zoals beschreven in het antwoord van de regering: Continue reading “The regulatory competition continues: ook het Britse vennootschaps- en insolventierecht staat niet stil”

European Private International Law at 50. Celebrating and Contemplating EEX and its Successors

Jura Falconis Conference 23 March 2018, 10 AM – 5:30 PM (College De Valk, Leuven)

In 2018 we celebrate the 50th year since the adoption of the 1968 Brussels Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The 1968 attempt to facilitate the free movement of judgments in the EU, helped lay the foundations for the exciting developments in European private international law which have occurred since. Many of the outstanding issues in what is now the Brussels I Recast (also known as EEX-bis; or Brussels Ibis) continue to have an impact on other parts of European civil procedure.

Co-organised by Leuven Law’s Institute of Private International Law and Jura Falconis, KU Leuven’s student law review, this event will consider, capita selecta wise, the application and implications of the Convention and its successors. It will also discuss the future direction of EU private international law both for civil and commercial matters, and for issues outside of commercial litigation. At a time when in most Member States the majority of commercial transactions have some kind of international element, this is a timely refresher for practitioners, judges, students and scholars alike.
PROGRAM Continue reading “European Private International Law at 50. Celebrating and Contemplating EEX and its Successors”

Een rechtspersoon, het komt in de beste families voor

Cass. 10 februari 2017 (F.16.0027.N) over het gunsttarief in de Vlaamse erfbelasting

Kan wie vandaag geen natuurlijke persoon als valentijnsdate krijgt opgescharreld, even veel bevrediging vinden bij een rechtspersoon? Een arrest van het Hof van Cassatie van 10 februari 2017 (F.16.0027.N) over de Vlaamse regels inzake erfbelasting geeft weinig hoop.

De Vlaamse erfbelasting voorziet een verlaagd tarief voor de verkrijging van aandelen uitgegeven door een familiale vennootschap. Eén van de voorwaarden is dat de aandelen van de vennootschap op het ogenblik van het overlijden voor ten minste 50% in volle eigendom toebehoren aan de erflater en zijn familie. De wettekst definiëert ‘familie’ als familieleden in de gebruikelijke zin, zoals de partner, ouders, kinderen, broers en zussen.

Hoe zit het nu met de aandelen die worden gehouden door een andere vennootschap met rechtspersoonlijkheid die wordt gecontroleerd door zulke ‘fysieke’ familieden? Moeten deze aandelen die toebehoren aan déze familiale holdingvennootschap – die dus aandelen houdt in een andere vennootschap om wiens aandelen het gaat – ook beschouwd worden als toebehorende “aan de erflater en zijn familie”?

Continue reading “Een rechtspersoon, het komt in de beste families voor”

Swiss Referendum on Implementing Supply Chain Liability

a post by guest blogger Penelope Bergkamp

Following a clear trend, Switzerland is now also considering proposals to hold Swiss companies liable for environmental damage and human rights violations in their supply chains. Possibly inspired by the French Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law, the Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice (SCCJ) launched the Responsible Business Initiative (“RBI”) in 2015. The RBI involves a citizens’ petition to amend the Swiss Federal Constitution to impose “appropriate due diligence” obligations on Swiss companies in accordance with their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles, along with liability for breaches by their subsidiaries. In response to the RBI, the Swiss Senate adopted a somewhat narrower, less ambitious proposal. Pursuant to Article 139 of the Federal Constitution, the Swiss people will be asked to vote on the RBI in a popular referendum

This post discusses the RBI and highlights the key differences between the RBI and the Senate proposal. First, the background to the RBI proposal is briefly reviewed. I will then turn to the procedural and substantive provisions of the RBI. Finally, the international private law aspects of the proposal will be analyzed. Continue reading “Swiss Referendum on Implementing Supply Chain Liability”

‘Minting Capital: The Role of the Corporation’ by Katharina Pistor (Columbia)

The youtube channel of the European Corporate Governance Institute has an interesting video of a discussion on “Minting Capital: The Role of the Corporation”. Professor Katharina Pistor of Columbia University discusses how corporate law can be used to generate wealth for the persons using this “legal code’ and how this can be seen as a legal subsidy.

This presentation develops the topics which Professor Pistor touched upon in her Heremans Lectures as Global Law Professor at the KU Leuven in 2016. She is working on an upcoming book on these topics

Uncitral Working Group V: Insolvency Law

At its fifty-first session (10-19 May 2017), Uncitral Working Group V has agreed to a draft model law on the recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgments (which can be consulted here) and to draft legislative provisions to facilitate the cross-border insolvency of multinational enterprise groups (which can be consulted here).

New German rules on Group Insolvency

one-to-many

Last week, the German Bundestag voted the Gesetz zur Erleichterung der Bewältigung von Konzerninsolvenzen. The purpose of this law is to bridge the gap between the economic unity of enterprise groups and their legal plurality, and as such to overcome the persistent entity-centrism of insolvency law. To do so, the law provides for the possibility of territorial concentration of insolvency proceedings, the possibility to appoint the same insolvency practitioner in multiple insolvency proceedings, and the possibility of a group coordination procedure. Similar rules can already be found in the recast Insolvency Regulation. This is not a coincidence as the main source of inspiration for the European rules … was the original German legislative proposal on group insolvency (which dates from 2013-2014). It can only be hoped that other legislators will soon follow the European and German example.

Een persmededeling van professor en parlementslid Heribert Hirte vat het belang van de wet als volgt samen:

Mit diesem Gesetz sind wir endlich im 21. Jahrhundert angekommen. Bisher wurde der Konzern im Insolvenzrecht eher stiefmütterlich behandelt, was auch dazu geführt hat, dass das Bild vom Unternehmen beim Bürger noch immer geprägt ist von der einzelnen Gesellschaft, meistens der GmbH oder der Aktiengesellschaft. Die wirtschaftliche Realität ist aber eine völlig andere. Unternehmensgruppen, teilweise bestehend aus mehreren Hundert einzelnen Gesellschaften, bestimmen das Geschehen. Das gilt nicht nur für die bekannten multinationalen Konzerne, sondern auch für viele Mittelständler und sogar Handwerker

Uncitral Working Group on Insolvency Law

The fiftieth session of Working Group V (Insolvency Law) will take place in Vienna from Monday 12 to Friday 16 December 2016. The delegates will discuss draft legislative provisions regarding the cross-border insolvency of multinational enterprise groups and the recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgments. For more information, see here.

Supply Chain Liability: a Primer

A post by guest blogger Penelope Bergkamp

Supply chain liability is the liability of a company for a harm caused by its business partners. Until recently, this was merely an academic theory. It no longer is: we are beginning to see court cases on supply chain liability, and more such claims will likely be filed. Continue reading “Supply Chain Liability: a Primer”

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