Subjects:

Company Law

Contents:

Introduction

Part I. The Object and Course of the Investigation

1. Dimensions of convergence in shareholder law

Part II. The Status Quo of Convergence

2. Legal bases

3. Bases for a shareholder typology

4. The 'Shareholder as Such'

5. The shareholder in the power structure of the company

6. Conclusions of Part 2

Part III. Developmental Trends and Patterns

7. Bases

8. Convergence through congruence

9. Convergence through pressure

10. Future convergences in shareholder law

11. Conclusions of Part 3

Part
4. Conclusion

12. Convergence as a model for the future

13. Summary of principal findings.

On the one hand, it can be argued that the increasing economic and political interdependence of countries has led to the convergence of national legal systems. On the other hand, advocates of the counterhypothesis maintain that this development is both unrealistic and unnecessary.

Mathias Siems examines the company law of the UK, the USA, Germany, France, Japan and China to see how this issue affects shareholder law. The author subsequently analyses economic and political factors which may or may not lead to convergence, and assesses the extent of this development. Thus, Convergence of Shareholder Law not only provides a thorough comparative legal analysis but also shows how company law interconnects with political forces and economic development and helps in evaluating whether harmonisation and shareholder protection should be enhanced.

• Includes a description of the company law in six major jurisdictions in one accessible source
• Explains the political and economic context of shareholder protection, allowing reader to understand how company law interconnects with political forces and economic development, in particular in the context of ‘globalisation’
• Typological approach to shareholder protection provides deeper understanding than the mere compilation of legal rules