Suchergebnisse für Aktienrecht

Verfügt die FINMA über genügend wirksame und scharfe Instrumente gegen (höchste) Bankmanager?

In March 2023, Crédit Suisse (CS) had to be taken over by UBS. It was the first global systemically important bank to face imminent resolution since the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Unlike UBS in 2008, CS remained well capitalized until the end. But clients had lost confidence in the bank’s management. This led to a bank run and thus to the bank’s demise. The ongoing crisis of specialist and…

Les enjeux de la CSRD pour les entreprises suisses

The CSRD, which substantially expands the scope of companies forced to publish sustainability-related data, has a direct and indirect extraterritorial effect on Swiss companies. Size is not the only relevant criterion. Engaging with the EU market or with European companies can have (unexpected) implications. This worldwide impact is coupled with comprehensive and granular disclosures covering a…

Venture Capital, ESG and Sustainable Investments

Sustainability is a pressing issue that requires addressing various environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges. The venture capital industry has the potential to play a crucial role in sustainable investments due to its characteristics, such as long-term investment horizons and investor protections. However, sustainability has yet to become a major topic in private equity and venture…

Klimawandel

Climate litigation against companies has increased significantly in the past couple of years, not only in the United States, but also in Europe. At the same time, regulation with respect to climate change is developing rapidly, such that it may be difficult for companies to identify which laws apply to them and how they should address the legal risks relating to climate change and climate…

Eigentümerstrukturen von Schweizer Aktiengesellschaften

The ownership structure of a corporation is in many respects a crucial determinant from a corporate governance perspective. In finance and business economics, a large variety of theoretical and empirical work has focused on corporate ownership structures and their implications. In the legal field, however, the topic has been rather neglected so far. This article provides an empirical study of…

EU-Product-Governance – Ein Vorbild für die Schweiz?

In 2020 the Financial Services Act (FinSA) entered into force. The provisions on rules of conduct and organizational duties are more or less based on the provisions of MiFID II. However, the regulatory complex on product governance has not been adopted by the Swiss legislator. This article examines whether this decision was convincing. As a result, it turns out to be wise, because the EU-product…

Nichtfinanzielle Berichterstattung nach dem Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative und ihre Bedeutung für den Finanzsektor

The financial market and its players play a key role in the pursuit of a sustainable economic system. If capital flows are specifically directed toward sustainable products and services, financial market participants can make a significant contribution to a resource-efficient economy. A key prerequisite for the regulatory control of the achievement of sustainability goals is the reporting of…

Editorial

Am 19. Juni 2020 verabschiedeten die Eidgenössischen Räte die Revision des Aktienrechts. Zu den Kernpunkten dieser «grossen Reform» zählen Flexibilisierungen des Aktienkapitals, Modernisierungen der…

Salärgovernance und neues Aktienrecht

In determining the compensation of directors and top management, the board of directors of public companies is faced with a structural conflict of interest. The aim to mitigate this conflict through an appropriate design of the procedure forms the essence of the say-on-pay rules introduced by the Swiss electorate in a public vote in 2013 and implemented on a transitional basis in the Ordinance…

Statutarische Gerichtsstandsklauseln

Jurisdiction clauses are ubiquitous in commercial contracts. They are less common in the articles of association of Swiss corporations. However, our analysis shows that jurisdiction clauses are a helpful and effective in­strument for Swiss corporations, especially in an international context. The effects are especially pronounced under the Lugano Convention, because according to case law of the…

Die Abschaffung der Sachübernahmevorschriften im neuen Aktienrecht

Under current Swiss corporate law the acquisition of assets from a shareholder intended prior the formation of the company is subject to the same rules as a payment of subscribed capital by contribution in kind. An (intended) acquisition of assets occurs when the company intends or undertakes to acquire certain assets of its shareholders or of a person closely related to a shareholder soon after…

CSR-Berichterstattung Ante Portas: Indirekter Gegenvorschlag zur Konzernverantwortungsinitiative

In a popular vote held in November 2020, the controversially debated «Swiss Responsible Business Initiative» was rejected. As a matter of constitutional procedure, the Parliament’s Counterproposal from 2019 will now automatically come into force. Unlike the Initiative, the Counterproposal refrains from introducing a foreign direct liability of Swiss businesses for infringing human rights or…

Corporate Purpose and Board of Directors: Means and Ends of Corporate Governance

(Enlightened) shareholder value is a widespread opinion among legal scholars and lawmakers in Switzerland. In other countries, we observe today a clear shift in favor of stakeholder governance. In this article, we advocate that shareholders are one among several constituencies that make possible the achievement of corporate purpose. Hence, corporate law and practice should promote corporate…

Förderung der ökologischen und sozialen Verantwortung durch den Bund im öffentlichen Beschaffungswesen und in der Privatwirtschaft

The Federal government has committed itself to setting a good example in the Sustainable Development Strategy 2016–2019 and in the 2030 Agenda. Sustainable development is a constitutional mandate that must also be taken into consideration in public procurement procedures. The pressure from parliamentarians seems to be bearing fruit and accordingly, as part of the total revision of the Swiss…

Fortress Europe: Die Äquivalenzverfahren der EU im Bereich der Finanzdienstleistungen

The European Union is by far the most important ­market for Swiss cross-border financial services. So far, the key strategy for market access has been to tailor Swiss financial regulation so as to achieve equivalence with EU law. However, the analysis of the current equivalence procedures reveals that equivalence is not the door opener one had hoped for. Core activities such as deposit-taking,…

Editorial

FIDLEG, FINIG, Anlegerschutz, Kundenberatung und internationale Harmonisierung sind gewichtige Kern­themen der neueren Finanzmarktregulierung. Die Eidgenössischen Räte haben die beiden neuen…

Validité et efficacité de la clause shotgun en droit suisse

A shotgun clause establishes a mechanism intended to resolve deadlocks in companies with two shareholders with equal stakes. It enables one of the two shareholders to trigger a procedure which will ultimately result in the purchase of all the shares at a fair price. The offeror initiates the procedure by proposing a certain price for the shares. The offeree then decides whether to sell its shares…

Editorial

Die SZW-Aktienrechtstagung 2018 war dem Verwaltungsrat (VR) gewidmet. Er ist de facto das leitende Organ der Aktiengesellschaft, auch wenn er nach der immer noch gängigen Theorie des Principal-Agent-Ve…

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown – Zur Rolle des Verwaltungsrates in schweizerischen Publikumsgesellschaften

The board of directors of a Swiss public company is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Shareholders breathe down directors’ necks with earnings expectations, but the results are delivered by an executive management under the board’s control rather than by the board itself. The executives who run the business on a day-to-day basis know the company better than the board. This allows them to…

Global agieren, lokal profitieren – und keine Verantwortung?

The debate about responsible business conduct has gained new momentum in Switzerland due to the responsible business initiative («Konzernverantwortungsinitiative») which triggered the drafting of a counter-­proposal by the National Council in the context of the ongoing revision of the company law. This contribution situates this debate in the relevant international con­text. The analysis’ focus…

Gouvernance des groupes: «E Pluribus Unum»?

The atomistic vision of the legal independence of a company comprised within a group reflects a historical conception. This view is not consistent with the reality of the group, which has become a predominant model structure in the economic sphere. The recognition in case-​law of the group’s interest would allow the economic phenomenon to be taken into account in a positive manner, while…

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…

Ausdehnung der Tragweite statutarischer Schiedsklauseln bei Kapitalgesellschaften

Der in Deutschland domizilierte A. (Kläger) gründete im Jahr 2004 mit dem heute in der Schweiz wohnhaften B. (Beklagter) und C. die D. GmbH mit Sitz in T., Schweiz. In Art. 26 der Statuten wurde eine…

Editorial | Éditorial

Die Digitalisierung wirkt sich nicht bloss auf die Wirtschaft und auf andere Bereiche der Gesellschaft aus, sondern setzt auch das Recht unter Druck, seine eigenen Ausgestaltungsformen an die sich…

Die virtuelle Generalversammlung

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with the virtual general assembly, one of the key aspects in the pursued modernisation of the general assembly in the context of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the proposed amendments regarding the virtual general assembly. Second, the article analyzes…

Le régime de responsabilité civile en matière d’émissions publiques de jetons digitaux (ICO)

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) consist of an innovative form of capital raising. In the digital era, it has become technically possible to raise substantial funds within a very short period of time. This paper analyses the civil liability regime applying to misrepresentations communicated to investors acquiring tokens in an ICO. Pursuant to the prospectus liability provisions of the Swiss Code of…

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…

Die regulatorische Antwort auf FinTech: Evolution oder Revolution? Eine Verortung aktueller Entwicklungen

While technological improvements have shaped the financial industry and its regulation for decades, FinTech is the buzzword of the hour. Rapidly developing digital technologies allow new market entrants to disrupt the traditional intermediary-based provision of financial services (I.). These new businesses – in particular those that operate payment systems or engage in crowdfunding – may clash…

Stimmrechtsaktien und andere bevorzugte Aktien

There are many ways to grant privileges to specific categories of shareholders and one can distinguish between financial privileges and privileged voting rights in the general assembly of all shareholders. In future, this is to remain unchanged, and accordingly the November 2016 draft of Swiss Law on corporations does not propose any decisive modifications. With regards to the new rules for…

Das Aktienkapital im Entwurf zur Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with the share capital, one of the key aspects of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the specific characteristic of Swiss law, according to which shares have a nominal value. Second, the article analyzes how the procedures of capital changes are regulated in…

Corporate Social Responsibility

The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility demands that companies comply with ethical standards with regard to human rights and the protection of the environment wherever they are active and that they, in general, respect the interests of society at large in their business. This concept is promoted by the UN in the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights. While Swiss law obliges…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2016/2017 / Le droit des sociétés 2016/2017

Im vergangenen Jahr stachen neben dem Fall Sika vor allem eine Reihe von Urteilen zum Verantwortlichkeitsrecht ins Auge. Diese bestätigen einerseits die klärende neuere Rechtsprechung zur Business…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Konzernverantwortungsinitiative: Grenzenlose Verantwortlichkeit?

This article discusses a recently launched popular initiative, that aims at ensuring that companies domiciled in Switzerland respect human rights and environmental standards in their activities worldwide. To achieve this objective binding due diligence obligations for companies shall be anchored in the Swiss constitution. An in-depth analysis of the proposed provision and the explanations thereto…

Rechtsvergleichende Überlegungen zur Business Judgment Rule

The famous business judgment rule (BJR) that emerged in the US in the early nineteenth century, has been adopted in recent years, in one form or another, by several jurisdictions in Europe. This article provides a comparative analysis of the different models of the BJR and its basic elements and rationales in the US, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The article outlines how the…

Verfassungsrechtliche Erwägungen zu Informationsverboten der Finanz­marktaufsicht

Im Zusammenhang mit dem grenzüberschreitenden US-Kundengeschäft der Bank Frey & Co. AG (Bank Frey)¹ erliess die FINMA am 30. August 2013 eine ­Verfügung, die unter anderem die folgenden Ziffern…

Ist die aktienrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit noch zeitgemäss?

An analysis of the board members’ and directors’ liability law shows that its present form has significant deficits: Confronting board members with a liability excee­ding their individual risk capacity causes risk adversity and a crowding out effect within the pool of potential board members. In the light of these functional deficits, it does not come as a surprise that the track record of…

The squeaky wheel gets (all) the grease: Wie weit soll und darf der Verwaltungsrat auf aktive Aktionäre eingehen?

Over the course of this enquiry, we shall examine whether the squeaky wheel does actually get all the grease and what this means for the modern public company. Art. 717 of the Swiss Code of Obligations states that shareholders are to be treated equally under equal conditions. However, said equality is not to be understood in absolute terms but has to be reasonable and justifiable with regard to…

Das schweizerische Bankprivatrecht 2014–2015/Le droit bancaire privé suisse 2014–2015

Während sich auf der politischen Bühne langsam eine gewisse Entspannung rund um die unversteuerten Gelder auf Schweizer Bankkonten abzeichnet, ist die Rechtsprechung der vergangenen Berichtsperiode…