Internationales und ausländisches Recht

Proxy Advisory – eine Standortbestimmung

With the growing interest of institutional investors in Swiss listed companies the influence of proxy advisors has also risen. This, in turn, has led to a wave of non-binding regulations or guidelines and, more recently, to proposals for binding statutory rules addressing those aspects of the proxy advisory industry which for years have been the target of international criticism. The author takes…

Vorsorgliche Massnahmen im Zusammenhang mit Generalversammlungen im Lichte der Rechtsprechung

The present article takes a closer look at interim relief in connection with shareholders meetings and illustrates possible provisional measures on the basis of a number of precedents rendered by Swiss courts. In practice, it is often crucial to obtain interim relief in time in order to prevent «faits accomplis» that cannot be undone at a later stage, or only with great difficulty. The authors…

Europareport

Mit Urteil vom 21. Juli 2016 hatte der Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union (nachfolgend: «Gerichtshof» oder «EuGH») Gelegenheit, Fragen zur Haftung eines Unternehmens für das Fehlverhalten eines Dienstleisters im Rahmen des EU-Kartellverbots zu klären. Der Gerichtshof urteilte, dass einem Unternehmen das Fehlverhalten eines selbständigen Dienstleisters grundsätzlich nicht zurechenbar sei; etwas…

Was heisst «Internationale Standards»?

International standards have become more and more important with and also through the globalisation of the financial markets. In consequence, they are most important in corporate law and in particular in the field of financial reporting, i.e. IFRS or US GAAP. This is not only true for Switzerland, but also for the European Union. International standards are often enacted by a panel of experts…

Global Financial Standards and Regulatory Reforms

The present paper discusses global financial standards and their relevance as part of the regulatory reforms initiated in the aftermath of the financial turmoil. In a first – precursory – part, it provides more clarity on the notion and role of “soft” law instruments, which have become an eminent pillar for the regulation of global finance. The essay likewise highlights the financial sector…

Globale Finanzstabilität – Wer setzt die Standards?

Standards are norms that are used to calibrate actions and behaviour. They are adopted and adhered to because they promote the common good and are in the interest of all concerned. In a world of sovereign states, they are a promising means to create a coherent framework for international financial activity. The process of international standard setting in the financial arena has always been…

Wettbewerb zwischen internationalen Standards

Competition between different standards can bring about efficiencies but the financial crisis has shown that the coordination and partial harmonization of these standards has advantages that are not to be underestimated. The following contribution analyses the possible competition of standards with a view towards the actors and the recipients of regulation. The theore­tical approach is clarified…

Financial Benchmarks – Bedeutung und internationale ­Regulierungsbestrebungen

The manipulation scandals surrounding the key interest rate LIBOR and benchmarks used in foreign exchange trading have rendered financial benchmarks a regulatory phenomenon. While they all serve a similar purpose, i.e. to provide a reference in a wide range of financial transactions, financial benchmarks vary significantly in their importance, data basis, underlying market and determination…

Internationales Standardsetting in der Wirtschaftsprüfung

The major objective of this article is to analyse the standard-setting process with respect to ordinary audits of consolidated and statutory financial statements. The article further provides an in-depth understanding of the various players who impact this field of standard setting. First, the process of setting auditing standards is looked at from a national and international perspective. The…

Internationale Standards in den Vorlagen zur neuen Finanzmarktarchitektur

The present article provides an overview of the international financial market architecture with a focus on global standards issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). It discusses the major advantages as well as the disadvantages of such standards and illustrates their implementation into the Swiss legislation based on specific examples…