Rechtsgebiete übergreifend

Editorial

Critique, le Professeur Peter V. Kunz met en garde contre la moralisation du droit et son instrumenta­lisation au détriment du principe de neutralité qui devrait caractériser un corpus de règles favorisant l’efficience d’une organisation. Dans sa contribution, il s’interroge sur les buts et fonctions du droit de la société anonyme. Brossant un tableau de l’évolution historique des sources du droit…

Funktion(en) des Aktienrechts – vom Organisationsrecht zum Katalysator der Gesellschaftspolitik?

Swiss Corporate Law (Articles 620 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations) is undergoing permanent changes since the 19^th century. Originally, these articles provided the legal basis for structuring and organizing corporations in the most efficient way – not more; therefore, the main focus was placed on protection of investors (i.e. the legal protection for both shareholders and creditors). Over…

Verwendung von Software aus dem Bereich der künstlichen Intelligenz bei der Due Diligence im M&A- und Kapitalmarktbereich

This article is a first review of how artificial intelligence could be used in M&A and capital markets due dili­gence. Today available products have similar fields of application and functionality. They are mainly used in contract review. Their core function is to help to identify clauses of a certain type and to provide first summaries of contracts. They all have the ability to learn and thereby…

Risikobegriff in der Ökonomie und im Recht

Risks need to be recorded, measured and monitored. The story of risk has its roots in the calculation of likelihood and is closely connected to the insurance business. Shortly thereafter, regulation was added in. Nevertheless, the market economy system is based on risks and opportunities. It follows that the concept of risk in economics is largely quantitative and focussed on likelihood. In…

Vertrauen – Begriffliche Grundlagen

In a philosophical tour d’horizon the abundance of con­ceptual foundations of trust is illuminated. Along with Charlie Chaplin and Vladimir Iljitsch Lenin, numerous other personalities have dealt with the term. In sociology, Niklas Luhmann described trust as a mechanism for reducing social complexity, as a function of faith without further review. In antiquity Aristotle’s trust was not only an…

Vertrauen in Geld

Money plays a crucial role in the traditional and in the digital economy. But money only constitutes a value if civil society has trust and confidence in the realizability of currency «investments» (acceptance of money, exchange partner, stability of currency). Recently proposals have been made to redefine the monetary instruments and to eliminate cash; notwithstanding the economic background of…

Konzernorganisationsrecht 2.0

The premise of this article is that the law of corporate groups is, in essence, business organisation law. The departure point is the observation that the function of the corporate group relates primarily to the overcoming of entrepreneurial problems that economic globalisation has brought, and continues to bring, forth. In order to do justice to this economic reality, the law must provide the…

The Evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility

Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a matter of law? Despite the fact that the role of national states is being increasingly impinged upon by the process of globalization, the prevailing notion of law today continues to be based on the maintenance of the stability of the existing national structures. The function of law is still seen as consisting primarily in shielding expectations from the…

Innovation durch den OR 2020-Entwurf: Die Vorschriften über die Liquidation

The draft version of the new Swiss Law of Obligations (OR 2020) suggests introducing a novel regime for restitution (called “Liquidation”) into the general part of the OR. The new provisions would cover all cases where contractual performances have to be restored, ranging from the invalidity of a contract to its termination for breach. It specifies that if a party cannot return what it has…