Suchergebnisse für Aktienrecht

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…

Risikomanagement in Finanzinstitutionen

In financial institutions risk management has increasingly become a central theme because the amount of types of risk have increased. Apart from credit and market risks, systemic and IT risks play a central role. For this reason, the setup of a comprehensive risk management system (both organisational and also connected to specific individuals) is imperative. Given the increased digitalisation of…

Das Finanzmarktaufsichtsrecht vom vierten Quartal 2015 bis ins vierte Quartal 2016

Die «Too-big-to-fail» (TBTF)-Bestimmungen des Bankengesetzes sind seit dem 1. März 2012 in Kraft. Mit Art. 52 BankG hat der Gesetzgeber sichergestellt, dass kontinuierlich ein waches Auge auf die Regulierung systemrelevanter Institute fällt. Da die beiden Grossbanken im Vergleich zum Schweizer Bruttoinlandprodukt deutlich grösser sind als die zwei grössten Banken in anderen Ländern¹ und…

Editorial | Éditorial

Thema der SZW-Aktienrechtstagung 2016 vom 14. Ju­ni 2016 in Zürich war die Willensbildung in der Generalversammlung. Die Referierenden setzten sich dabei mit Funktion und Bedeutung der Generalversamm…

Wer kontrolliert die Aktiengesellschaft?

In Switzerland as in other countries, there is a perennial debate relating to the question of who controls a listed company, and whose interests a corporation should serve: the largest shareholders, minority shareholders, or other stakeholders? And what is the influence of management or the recent phenomenon of proxy advisors on decision-making in listed companies? The author analyzes the issues…

Stimmenmehrheit unter Verdacht: Wege und Irrwege im aktienrechtlichen Minderheitenschutz

Recent developments in the area of corporation law ­indicate a dichotomy between calls for more “shareholder democracy” and an increasing suspicion about “shareholders’ majority decisions”. Corporations have to date been governed following the model of “subjection of the minority to the majority”, with the steady approval of the courts. This guiding principle, which is at the core of a…

Stimmrechtsverhalten von institutionellen Anlegern, insbesondere ­Pensionskassen

The initiative against excessive remuneration gives additional powers to the general meeting of shareholders, in particular where the salaries of mangers are concern­ed. A less known novelty is that it also obliges some of the institutional investors, Swiss pension funds, to exercise their rights as shareholders in the “interests of their members” and to publicly communicate the manner in which…

Le principe d’immédiateté au sein de l’assemblée générale

Traditionally, the general meeting of shareholders was viewed as the ideal place where shareholders take their decisions based on the expression of their contradicting views. Today, the shareholders meeting is no longer a forum where shareholders exchange ideas, but a place where votes are registered and results are communicated. Shareholders take their decisions prior to the general meeting…

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…

Aktienrechtliche Notariatspraxis: Frequently Asked Questions

Within the context of a general meeting of shareholders, the notary public assumes various duties. He/she counsels and informs his/her clients in preparation of the meeting. During the meeting he/she is in charge of preparing the notarized deed and minutes all the statements and decisions of the parties. The notary public does not get involved in the content of the meeting but he/she may…

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…

Aktuelle Rechtsprechung des Bundesgerichts zum Aktienrecht

During the last two years the Federal Supreme Court issued over 30 company-law cases. The following article discusses two particularly relevant topics of this remarkably rich jurisprudence. A first section deals with cases in which the court had to assess business decisions (in doctrine also referred to as cases of “business judgment rule”). This section provides an in-depth analysis of the three…

Verantwortlichkeit der Revisionsgesellschaft bei der Umwandlung (Art. 108 Abs. 2 FusG)

Am 1. Juli 2009 wurde die Umwandlung der F. GmbH in eine Aktiengesellschaft (nunmehr F. AG) ins Handelsregister des Kantons Schwyz eingetragen. Als Umwandlungsbilanz diente die Bilanz der…

Editorial | Éditorial

Dieses Editorial ist etwas länger als üblich. Der Grund liegt darin, dass alle drei Beiträge zum Schwerpunktthema in französischer Sprache abgefasst sind und daher im Editorial knapp zusammengefasst…

L’ouverture de la faillite : situation actuelle et mise en perspective

This article presents the opening of Bankruptcy Procee­d­ings under Swiss law and especially the problem of the costs. Bankruptcy Proceedings against legal entities are normally initiated without prior enforcement proceedings. According to 725 II CO, the board of directors has a legal duty to notify the court in the case of overindebtedness. In this case, the payment of an advance is not…

Assainissements dans le cadre d’un sursis concordataire ­(assainissements-sursis)

Although the Parliament has declined, a bit by accident, the proposal of the Federal Council to get rid of the provisions on the adjournment of bankruptcy (725a CO), it is again proposed deleting them in the context of the contemplated revision of corporate law. The question therefore is why, despite the revision aiming to facilitate restructuring (art. 293 ss LP), companies apparently continue…

Business Judgment Rule und Rechtsrisiken

Legal risks are currently the most dangerous threat for global corporations. This article analyses the question whether the Swiss Business Judgment Rule (BJR) may also provide a “safe harbour” for decisions based on legal uncertainties. This may look surprising, since corporations are bound to comply with the legal environment in which they are operating, therefore illegal behaviour should not be…

Öffentliche Übernahmen von Publikumsgesellschaften: Möglichkeiten und Schranken des Einsatzes von Mitteln der zivilrechtlichen Rechtsdurchsetzung

Civil claims may be raised in the context of public tender offer proceedings. From a timing perspective, however, civil proceedings and public tender offer proceedings can hardly be synchronized. Whereas a public tender offer proceeding is driven by short deadlines and fast decision-making, civil proceedings may last several years. Based on two practical examples, the present article explores the…

Les sanctions en matière d’obligation d’annonce des actionnaires (art. 697m CO)

The Federal Act of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the revised recommendations 2012 of the ­Financial Action Task Force introduced in the Code of Obligations new provisions on transparency in force since 1^st of July 2015. Since that date, holders or ­purchasers of bearer shares and the beneficial owner of shares are bound by an obligation to report to the ­company (articles 697i and …

Zusicherungen und Garantien zugunsten von Investoren im Rahmen einer Finanzierungsrunde

Before committing to provide additional funds to a target company, investors will typically seek to secure their investment with appropriate representations and warranties. In order to do so, the investors may rely on various stakeholders and, among other options, request that appropriate representations and warranties be provided by the target company itself. This article addresses the statutory…

Le droit des sociétés 2015 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2015

Dans la période écoulée, plus longue que d’habitude,¹ le Tribunal fédéral a rendu la première décision publiée en application de l’art. 678 al. 2 CO concernant la restitution des «…

Unterschreiten der Mindestmitgliederzahl bei Genossenschaften

Die Milchgenossenschaft A. mit Sitz in A. wurde 1910 von Milchbauern zwecks «bestmöglicher» Verwertung der im Genossenschaftskreis produzierten Kuhmilch gegründet. Im Zuge des Strukturwandels in der…

Disgorgement Remedy for Duty of Loyalty Violations

Wrongdoing should not be rewarded. – Although this is considered a core idea of Swiss law’s understanding of justice, the legal system is struggling with the principle’s satisfactory implementation when it comes to wrongfully obtained profits. One would expect the law to provide for suitable legal instruments to disgorge any gains unduly made by wrongdoers, particularly if the wrongdoer is a…

Durchsetzungsordnung für Verantwortlichkeitsansprüche im Konkurs

Die SAirGroup in Nachlassliquidation (Klägerin) reichte am 27. Juni 2012 beim Handelsgericht des Kantons Zürich eine Klage aus aktienrechtlicher ­Verantwortlichkeit gegen verschiedene ehemalige…

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…