Gesellschaftsrecht II / Principles of Corporate Law

The course will examine the main principles of corporate law from a comparative and European perspective. In doing so, the major doctrines of common law and civil law systems will be analysed. The areas covered include ‘Why do we have companies?’, shareholder rights, directors’ duties, agency principles, corporate governance, capital raising, insider dealing and market misconduct. The EU law principles of free movement and shareholder control of financial decisions will be covered. Also covered will be investor protection, the regulation of compensation, corporate personality, formation and limited liability. Theories of corporate social responsibility and employee rights will be explored along with the role of auditors and rating agencies. The course will use several case studies to highlight key issues.

Note (new):

Those students who are enrolled at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics, and have had issues booking this course, please send a request for correction of modules (DOT, 101 KB) (Antrag zur Korrektur von Modulbuchungen) via email to  deansoffice@oec.uzh.ch. Ensure you date and sign it and send it electronically to them. This must be done before Monday, 19.10.2020, at 11:30am. Alternatively, please contact +41 (44) 634 21 24 for more information. 

The lectures will be held on Monday, 14:00-15:45, starting 19 September 2022 until 19 December 2022.

It will be held as a hybrid lecture, in room KOL-F-104 and as an online live stream Zoom meeting. Subsequently, it can be viewed online as a presentation.

On Monday, 03 October 2022, the lecture will take place in room KOL-G-217.

NEW: On Monday, 07 November 2022 (lecture 8), no lecture will take place (reading week)!

Check this website for the link to the Zoom meetings.

Short Syllabus (PDF, 134 KB) (full version forthcoming)

Kern Alexander is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Gesellschaftsrecht II / Principles of Corporate Law
Time: Sep 19, 2022 02:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
        Every week on Mon, until Dec 19, 2022, 14 occurrence(s)
        Sep 19, 2022 02:00 PM
        Sep 26, 2022 02:00 PM
        Oct 3, 2022 02:00 PM
        Oct 10, 2022 02:00 PM
        Oct 17, 2022 02:00 PM
        Oct 24, 2022 02:00 PM
        Oct 31, 2022 02:00 PM
        Nov 7, 2022 02:00 PM
        Nov 14, 2022 02:00 PM
        Nov 21, 2022 02:00 PM
        Nov 28, 2022 02:00 PM
        Dec 5, 2022 02:00 PM
        Dec 12, 2022 02:00 PM
        Dec 19, 2022 02:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://uzh.zoom.us/j/66592934187?pwd=WHYvSnIraGt6VUdPNm9DUHFsd1p5QT09

Meeting ID: 665 9293 4187
Passcode: 750740

The podcasts / Zoom recordings can be watched here. Please note that due to technical difficulties individual lectures may not be recorded or only with disturbance. Students who forgo the attendance of a lecture or the writing of their own notes do so at their own risk. For technical reasons, the constant availability of records cannot be guaranteed. The loss of access to the recordings is not sufficient cause for an appeal against the examination. Scripts or other materials declared as examination relevant take priority over the podcasts / zoom recordings. In case of ambiguity contact the lecturer immediately. The recordings are for private use only. Redistribution in whatever form, in whole or in part, is not permitted without consent of the lecturer and may be punished by disciplinary measures or otherwise.

Lecture 1 (19 Sept 2022)

Lecture 2 (26 Sept 2022)

Lecture 3 (03 Oct 2022): Video 3.1 (MP4, 159 MB), 3.2 (MP4, 151 MB), 3.3 (MP4, 172 MB), 3.4 (MP4, 136 MB), 3.5 (MP4, 102 MB), 3.6 (MP4, 112 MB)

Lecture 4 (10 Oct 2022)

Lecture 5 (17 Oct 2022)

Lecture 6 (24 Oct 2022)

Lecture 7 (31 Oct 2022)

Lecture 8 (07 Nov 2022): no lecture - reading week

Lecture 9 (14 Nov 2022)

Lecture 10 (21 Nov 2022)

Lecture 11 (28 Nov 2022)

Lecture 12 (05 Dec 2022)

Lecture 13 (12 Dec 2022)

Lecture 14 (19 Dec 2022)

Written examination (open book)

Date: 12 January 2023

Time: 10.00-12.00

! Attention: Please note that the information on our website regarding date and time (below) is not binding. Please check the official exams website to find out about the date, time and the room in which the Gesellschaftsrechts-exam will take place as well as your personal examination sequence number:

https://www.ius.uzh.ch/en/studies/general/exams.html

Mock Exams and Former Exam Questions

HS2011_Exam example_Gesellschaftsrecht (Question 1) (PDF, 233 KB)

HS2013_Exam_Gesellschaftsrecht (PDF, 98 KB)

Exam Archive from previous years

Lecture 1 (19 September) (PDF, 967 KB)

Lecture 2 (26 September) (PDF, 911 KB)

Lecture 3 (03 October) (PDF, 962 KB)

Lecture 4 (10 October) (PDF, 2 MB)

Lecture 5 (17 October) (PDF, 4 MB)

Lecture 6 (24 October) (PDF, 791 KB)

Lecture 7 (31 October) (PDF, 1 MB)

Lecture 8: reading week - no new slides.

Lecture 9 (14 November): Part 1 (PDF, 888 KB), Part 2 (PDF, 1 MB) (new)

Lecture 10 (21 November) (PDF, 4 MB)

Lecture 11 (28 November) (PDF, 4 MB)

Lecture 12 (05 December) (PDF, 634 KB)

Lecture 13 (12 December) (PDF, 2 MB)

Lecture 14 (19 December) (PDF, 253 KB)

Introduction: Foundations of Swiss Company Law

Bauen and Bernet - Swiss Company Definition (PDF, 297 KB)

Bauen and Bernet - Share Capital & shares (PDF, 490 KB)

Bauen and Bernet - Alteration of Share Capital (PDF, 360 KB)

Bauen and Bernet - Legal status of shareholders (PDF, 505 KB)

Bauen and Bernet - Corporate Bodies (PDF, 250 KB)

Homburger summary of Swiss Corporate Law reform (PDF, 106 KB) (new)

Lecture 1 (19.09.22): Introduction, Theory of the Firm, Common Principles of Corporate Law across Jurisdictions, Role of Shareholders

Mandatory

Kern Alexander, Corporate and Banking Law, in Introduction to Swiss Law, Marc Thommen (ed.), 2022, pp. 341-344 (PDF, 1 MB) (new)

Kern Alexander, Corporate and Banking Law, in Introduction to Swiss Law, Marc Thommen (ed.), 2022, pp. 345-348 (PDF, 2 MB) (new)

M Friedman, 'A Friedman doctrine‐- The Social Responsibility Of Business Is to Increase Its Profits', The New York Times, 13.09.1970

Coase - The Firm, The Market, And the Law - Chapter 2: The Nature of the Law (PDF, 6102 KB)

The Economist - Coase's theory of the firm (PDF, 332 KB)

Dine - Chapter 2 (PDF, 2 MB)

Freer and Moll - Principles of Business Organizations (PDF, 3 MB)

Hamilton Chapter 14 (PDF, 1 MB)

Hamilton Chapter 1 (PDF, 1 MB)

Hamilton - Chapter 2 (PDF, 1 MB)

Optional

Coase - The Firm The Market and The Law Chapter 5 (PDF, 16 MB)

The Economist - Free exchange (PDF, 127 KB)

Forstmoser - Profit - das Mass aller Dinge? (PDF, 1 MB)

Financial Times - Caulkin - How we created a monster (PDF, 338 KB)

Berle and Means Chapter 2 (PDF, 2 MB)

Bauen and Bernet Chapter 5 (PDF, 307 KB)

Hirschmann - Exit, Voice, Loyalty (PDF, 819 KB)

Lecture 2 (26.09.22): Management & Agency Problems, Role of Board of Directors

Mandatory

Kern Alexander, Corporate and Banking Law, in Introduction to Swiss Law, Marc Thommen (ed.), 2022, pp. 349-353 (PDF, 2 MB) (new)

Dodd- For Whom are Corporate Managers Trustees (PDF, 1 MB)

Berle - For Whom are Corporate Managers Trustees (PDF, 897 KB)

Freer and Moll - Principles of Business Organizations (PDF, 3 MB)

Strine - One Fundamental Corporate Governance Question We Face (PDF, 130 KB)

The Times - Duty on shareholders when voting (PDF, 464 KB)

Optional

Mayer/Mikes/Rama Murthy: Why Shareholder Value Has Primacy (PDF, 414 KB) (new!)

Alexander: Director's Duties: a Case Study (Barings Plc No 5) (PDF, 252 KB)

Bruner - Corporate Governance Theory and Review of Board Decisions (PDF, 144 KB)

The Economist - The Halo Effect (PDF, 958 KB)

Bebchuk, Brav and Jiang - The Long-Term effects of Hedge Fund Activism (PDF, 695 KB)

Lipton and Rosenblum - A New System of Corporate Governance (PDF, 8 MB)

Blair - Shareholder Value, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Performance (PDF, 111 KB)

Re Stakefield Ltd (Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform v Doffman)

Official Receiver v Key (PDF, 72 KB)

Lipton - Important Questions About Activist Hedge Funds (PDF, 72 KB)

Forstmoser - Exit oder Voice? (PDF, 530 KB)

International Corporate Law Bulletin_September_1999_US_Dismissal of Stockholder Derivative Action Overturned (PDF, 901 KB) (new)

International Corporate Law Bulletin_July_1999_US_Entire Fairness Ruling (PDF, 627 KB) (new)

Lecture 3 (03.10.22): The Corporate Personality, Separate Legal Entity, and Agency Problems

Mandatory

Kern Alexander, Corporate and Banking Law, in Introduction to Swiss Law, Marc Thommen (ed.), 2022, pp. 383-385 (PDF, 1 MB) (new)

Freer/Moll Business Organizations (Chapter 5) (PDF, 3 MB) (new)

Dine and Koutsias - Chapter 1 (PDF, 37 MB)

Dine and Koutsias - Chapter 3 (PDF, 36 MB)

SIKA Articles of Incorporation (example of a Swiss company limited by shares) (PDF, 191 KB) (PDF, 191 KB)

Table A: UK model Articles of Association of a public company limited by shares (PDF, 99 KB)

Optional

The Times - Duties of director of corporate director (30 Nov 2010) (PDF, 185 KB)

Pinto and Branson - Corporate Law 37-70 (PDF, 12 MB)

Romano - Foundations of Corporate Law 90-113 (PDF, 9 MB)

Bauen and Bernet - Chapter 2 11-39 (PDF, 10 MB)

Armour, Hansmann and Kraakman - What is Corporate Law? (PDF, 9 MB)

Andenas and Wooldridge - European Comparative Company Law 52-98 (PDF, 2 MB)

Adams v Cape Industries (PDF, 1 MB)

Sethe - The law of Business Associations (PDF, 242 KB)

Forstmoser/Hochstrasser, General Meetings of Stock Corporations in light of the Revised Swiss Code of Obligations, CapLaw, 2020 (PDF, 157 KB)(new)

Financial Times_Ferragamo death marks end of era for Italian business dynasties (PDF, 2 MB)

Alibrand/Frigeni Dividend restrictions and restraint (PDF, 601 KB) (new)

Lecture 4 (10.10.22): Corporate Finance

Mandatory

C–441/93 Pafitis and Others v TKE and Others (PDF, 843 KB)

Bonn and Schmitt Avocats - New Ruling Prospectus (PDF, 126 KB)

Hamilton - Chapter 9 Financial Structure (PDF, 3 MB)

Optional

Moloney - EU Securities and Financial Markets Regulation, Capital Raising (PDF, 9 MB)

Dine and Koutsias - Chapter 6 (PDF, 61 MB)

Coffee and Sale - Securities Regulations 96-138 (PDF, 15 MB)

C–338/06 Commission v Spain (PDF, 93 KB)

Optional - Examples of a Prospectus

Alibaba - US (PDF, 7 MB)

Ferrari - US (PDF, 3 MB)

Ferrari - EU (PDF, 1 MB)

Zalando - EU (PDF, 11 MB)

Glarner Kantonalbank - CH (PDF, 1 MB) (new)

Optional - Examples of a Whitepaper

Whitepaper Hoqu (PDF, 10 MB) (new)

Whitepaper Well (PDF, 260 KB) (new)

Lecture 5 (17.10.22): Capital Raising & The Prospectus

Mandatory

C-409/06 Winner Wetten GmbH v Bürgermeisterin der Stadt Bergheim (PDF, 173 KB)

Hannigan - Company Law - The European Framework 32-52 (PDF, 1 MB)

Andenas / Wooldridge - European Comparative Company Law 7-33 (PDF, 2 MB)

C-359/12 Timmel vs. Aviso Zeta AG (PDF, 595 KB) (PDF, 713 KB)

Financial Times_one share one vote (PDF, 163 KB) (new)

Optional

C-64/08 Engelmann (PDF, 140 KB)

C-316/07, C-358/07-C-360/07, C-409/07 Stoss v Wetteraukreis (PDF, 224 KB)

C-210/06 Cartesio Judgement (PDF, 148 KB)

Lecture 6 (24.10.22): EU Company Law

Mandatory

Financial Times - Rossbach - A cautionary tale of power (PDF, 292 KB)

The Economist - Swiss Takeover Law - Avalanche in the Alps (PDF, 56 KB)

Audiolux SA v Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA (PDF, 149 KB)

La Porta / Lopez / Shleifer / Vishny - Investor Protection and Corporate Governance (PDF, 135 KB)

Lucian Bebchuk - The Myth of Hedge Funds (PDF, 272 KB)

Martin Lipton - Bite the Apple (PDF, 64 KB)

Tomoeh Murakami Tse - Activist Investors Rally Reclaim Power - WP (PDF, 185 KB)

Stephen Foley - Activist Investors learn to mind their manners -FT (PDF, 677 KB)

Davies / Hopt / Ringe, Chapter 8: Control Transactions, in: Kraakman et al. (eds.), The Anatomy of Corporate Law, 3rd. ed., 2017, pp. 205-242 (PDF, 269 KB)

FT - Saint-Gobain gives up fight for control of SIKA (PDF, 123 KB)

Optional

Hertig / Kraakman / Rock - Issuers and Investor Protection (PDF, 3 MB)

New York Times - Sorkin - The Secrets Big Investors Get to Keep (PDF, 222 KB)

New York Times - Davidoff - Corporate Disclosure – Not Just a Game (PDF, 293 KB)

Berle and Means - pp. 244-252 (PDF, 7 MB)

Berle and Means - pp. 207-218 (PDF, 4 MB)

Berle and Means - The resultant position of the stockholders 119-140 (PDF, 6 MB)

Berle and Means - Chapter 5 Evolution of Control 66-111 (PDF, 2 MB)

Enriques / Hansmann / Kraakman / Pargendler, Chapter 4: The Basic Governance Structure, in: Kraakman et al. (eds.), The Anatomy of Corporate Law, 3rd. ed., 2017, pp. 79-108 (PDF, 220 KB)

Lecture 7 (31.10.22): (1) Investor Protection, Shareholder Control Issues, and Minority Shareholder Rights, (2) Multinational Corporations: Ethics and Corruption

Mandatory

Alexander - The Law of Insider Dealing – A Tale of Two Jurisdictions (PDF, 36 MB)

Manne - Entrepreneurship, compensation, and the corporation (PDF, 5 MB)

Langenbucher - Insider Trading in European Law (PDF, 7 MB)

Financial Times - Binham and Thompson - Barclays at risk of fresh fraud charges over Qatar cash call (PDF, 225 KB)

Financial Times - Binham - What is the Barclays fraud case about (PDF, 281 KB)

International New York Times - Stewart - Muddled insider trading laws need clarity (PDF, 344 KB)

Optional

International New York Times - Protess and Goldstein - Supreme Court asked to clarify "benefit" in insider trading (PDF, 530 KB)

Nelemans and Schouten - Takeover bids and insider trading (PDF, 7 MB)

Prospectuses:

Adriatic Metals (PDF, 20 MB)

Akkad summary prospectus (PDF, 6 MB)

Fastned prospectus euronext amsterdam (PDF, 1 MB)

Orbis prospectus (PDF, 2 MB)

midsummer prospectus (in Swedish, for those who are interested) (PDF, 3 MB)

Lecture 8 (07.11.22): Reading week (updated)

--> On Monday, 07 November 2022 (lecture 8), no lecture will take place (reading week)!

Lecture 9 (14.11.22): Compensation and Bonuses; Insider Trading and Market Manipulation

Mandatory (updated)

Jensen - Foundations of Organizational Strategy, Part III Compensation (PDF, 2 MB)

Einer Elhauge - Horizontal Shareholding (PDF, 3 MB)

Optional

FT - Swiss voters reject wage caps in referendum (PDF, 103 KB)

FT - Swiss executives braced for Sunday poll on pay (PDF, 204 KB)

BIS Discussion Paper on Executive Remuneration Sept 2011 (PDF, 386 KB)

Jensen and Murphy - CEO Incentives – It’s Not How Much You Pay, But How (PDF, 146 KB)

Bank of England - Strengthening the Alignement of Risk and Reward: new Remuneration Rules (PDF, 1 MB)

PwC - Key Points form the UK's FInal Bonus Compensation Rule (PDF, 230 KB)

Armour / Enriques / Hansmann / Kraakman, Chapter 3: The Basic Governance Structure : The Interests of Shareholders as a Class, in: Kraakman et al. (eds.), The Anatonomy of Corporate Law, 3rd. ed., 2017, pp. 49-77 (PDF, 220 KB)

Bebchuk / Hirst - Index Funds and the Future of Corporate Governance: Theory, Evidence, and Policy (PDF, 1017 KB)

ETHOS - Generalversammlung 2018 (PDF, 1 MB)

Tagesanzeiger - Kommt nun die Minder-Initiative 2.0? (PDF, 2 MB)

Lukas Müller, Regulation of Say on Pay (SZW 2011) (PDF, 2 MB)

Richard A Posner. Are American CEOs Overpaid (Duke Law Journal 2009) (PDF, 206 KB)

Lecture 10 (21.11.22): Role of Gatekeepers - Accountants, Auditors, and Rating Agencies - a 'True and Fair View' (new)

Mandatory

The Financial Reporting Council, True and Fair (PDF, 688 KB)

Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman [1990] 2 AC 605 (PDF, 3 MB)

The trouble with accounting, The Economist (PDF, 5 MB)

Optional

Accounting Standards Board, 'The True and Fair Requirement, Opinion 21 April 1993 (PDF, 1 MB)

The Financial Reporting Council, The True and Fair Requirement Revisited, Opinion 21 April 2008 (PDF, 847 KB)

ABN AMRO Bank NV v Bathurst Regional Council [2014] FCAFC 65 (PDF, 3 MB)

Bauen / Bernet, Chapter 8: Accountability (PDF, 1 MB)

Case summaries

Jetivia v Bilta (PDF, 298 KB)

Stone & Rolls Ltd v Moore Stephens Summary (PDF, 101 KB)

Lecture 11 (28.11.22): Multinational Corporate Groups, Ethics, Corruption / Corporate Governance & Technology

Mandatory

Luca Enriques and Dirk Zetzsche, Corporate Technologies and the Tech Nirvana Fallacy (PDF, 831 KB)

Christophe van der Elst and Anne Lafarre, Blockchain and Smart Contracting for the Shareholder Community (PDF, 462 KB)

Mark Fenwick, Wulf Kaal, and Erik P.M. Vermeulen, The ‘Unmediated’ and ‘TechDriven’ Corporate Governance of Today's Winning Companies (PDF, 2 MB)

Stilpon Nestor, Corporate Governance 2030: Thoughts on the Future of Corporate Governance

Florian Moeslein, Robots in the Boardroom: Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Law (PDF, 518 KB) (new)

Lecture 12 (05.12.22): Takeovers and Mergers

Mandatory

WSJ - Sika Exposed to Takeover After Shareholder Vote on Charter (PDF, 479 KB)

Mukwiri - Takeovers and the EU Legal Framework (PDF, 2 MB)

Papadopoulos - EU Law and Takeovers (PDF, 4 MB)

Optional

Bergloef / Burkart - European Takeover Regulation (PDF, 484 KB)

Oesterle - The law of mergers and acquisitions 415-425 (PDF, 4 MB)

Lengauer et al. - Chapters 7 and 8 Reorganisations and International Reorganisations (PDF, 10 MB)

Bauen / Bernet - Chapter 13 Merger Law (PDF, 7 MB)

Andenas / Wooldridge - European Comparative Company Law (PDF, 1 MB)

FT - Daimler Denies Devising Poison Pill Defence (PDF, 35 KB)

SIKA summary (PDF, 83 KB)

SIKA outcome (PDF, 848 KB)

SIKA deutsch (PDF, 867 KB)

Lecture 13 (12.12.22): Corporate Governance, stakeholders, and corporate social responsibility

Mandatory (updated)

John Parkinson, Models of the company and the Employment Relationship (PDF, 128 KB)

Janet Dine, 'Corporate Regulation, Climate Change and Corporate Law: Challenges and Balance in an International and Global World' (PDF, 301 KB)

Edward B. Rock, For Whom is the Corporation Managed in 2020?: The Debate over Corporate Purpose (PDF, 1 MB) (new)

Optional

Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer, Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility (PDF, 766 KB)

PD Dr. Christoph B. Bühler, Regulating Corporate Governance Following the „Swiss Muesli“ Recipe (PDF, 22 MB)

Forstmoser, Corporate Responsibility und Reputation, in: VOGT ET AL. (Hrsg.), Unternehmen – Transaktion – Recht, Liber Amicorum für Rolf Watter zum 50. Geburtstag (PDF, 596 KB)

GMB Northern v Cable Realisations Ltd [2009] (PDF, 128 KB)

Dine/Koutsias, Chapter 2 ‘Corporate Governance’ (PDF, 22 MB)

DR. Jinchen Zhao, 'The Curious Case of Stakeholder Theory: Calling for a More Realistic Theory' (PDF, 2 MB)

Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice - Business Responsibility Initiative (PDF, 231 KB)

Katrin Bennhold, Nazis Killed Her Father. Then She Fell in Love With One (PDF, 45 KB)

David Gelles, He Ran an Empire of Soap and Mayonnaise. Now He Wants to Reinvent Capitalism (PDF, 220 KB)

Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Companies under pressure to declare ‘social purpose’ (PDF, 556 KB)

Lucian A. Bebchuck and Roberto Tallarita, The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance (PDF, 653 KB)

Jill E. Fisch and Steven Davidoff Solomon, Should Corporations have a Purpose? (PDF, 424 KB)

Lecture 14 (19.12.22): Selected Topics and Exam Review

No new readings

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