Suchergebnisse für Aktionärsrechte

Informationskonzept im neuen Aktienrecht

The information asymmetry between shareholders and managers calls for the implementation of an efficient information concept within stock corporations. In the course of the Swiss Stock Corporation Reform of 2020, the former information concept was partially revised. This article takes a critical look at the revised provisions and puts them in context.

Das Kapitalband

The revision of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares, which came into force on January 1, 2023, introduced the capital band («Kapitalband»). This new legal institution leads to more flexibility for the companies with regard to equity financing by giving the shareholders the possibility to authorize the board of directors to increase and decrease the share capital without a prior…

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…

Digitale Generalversammlungen und Verwaltungsratssitzungen

The 19 June 2020 revision of the provisions on the limited by shares company contains various facilitations for the use of technical means in the conduct of general meetings and board meetings. What are the concrete options available and what are the practical implications of these innovations? What do banks need to consider from a prudential perspective? After an overview of the digitization in…

Protokollierung von GV- und VR-Beschlüssen als Gültigkeitsform

The «new» corporation law provides for some new and overall numerous ways to conduct shareholders’ and board meetings. Irrespective of the way they are conducted there is a duty to minute the meetings. Contrary to the traditional opinion the minutes are a validity requirement. Not minuted shareholders’ and board resolutions are therefore not valid and null and void.

Auskunfts- und Einsichtsrecht des Aktionärs – Durchzogene Bilanz der Aktienrechtsrevision

The revision of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) concerning the joint stock corporation – which will come into force on 1 January 2023 – substantially alters the shareholders’ rights to ask for information about the affairs of the company and to inspect its ledgers and files. Compared to the present legal situation, which only entitles a shareholder to obtain information during the course of a…

Aktien als individualisierte Rechte und die dadurch in der Trias Mitgliedschaft –Wertpapier/Wertrecht –Bucheffekte verursachten Probleme

Shares (Aktien) in the sense of memberships (Mitgliedschaften) in corporations are in principle individualized, non-fungible rights. They come into existence as non-certified shares (unverbriefte Aktien). In order to make them more negotiable such non-certified rights are often wrapped into a cover (Hülle). By this wrapping process (Umhüllung) the non-certified shares are transformed into…

Relationship Agreements zwischen Vertragsfreiheit und zwingendem Aktienrecht

Relationship agreements between listed companies and large shareholders have gained in popularity over the past years. Relationship agreements cover such topics as the shareholder’s representation on the board of directors, voting at shareholder meetings, the shareholder’s right to receive information from the company, and exit provisions (e.g., lock-up and standstill undertakings). From the…

Tokenisierung von Aktien unter dem neuen DLT-Gesetz (insb. Art. 973d ff. OR) und CMTA Standard

With the entry into force of the Swiss Federal Act on the Adaptation of the Federal Legislation to Developments in Electronic Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT Act) in 2021, various uncertainties relating to the tokenization of financial instruments have been clarified. In particular, the legal framework of such tokenization, understood as the association between digital tokens and certain…

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…

Moderne Formen der Generalversammlung im revidierten Aktienrecht 2020

The revision in 2020 of the Swiss law on companies limited by shares (Aktiengesellschaft) as created the legal basis for modernizing the annual general meeting (AGM) of shareholders of limited companies, also making it more flexible. Today’s electronic means of communication have opened up new possibilities for how AGMs can be conducted. Especially in large corporations, but also in smaller…

SPACs aus Schweizer Sicht

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have been in use in the US for many decades and in their current form since roughly two decades with almost 1000 SPAC listings over these twenty years. A SPAC is a listed company that aims at acquiring or combining with an operating company to bring that company public (so called De-SPAC). For that purpose the founders and sponsors invest capital to…

Good Corporate Governance: Von der Zielsetzung zur Unternehmens­organisation – am Beispiel des neuen Aktienrechts

The authors start out by noting that the term and discussion around corporate governance developed from a technical designation without content to a concept of «good» corporate governance that increasingly prescribes the ways, not the goals of corporate governance. Likewise, the question whether a corporate governance system is good or bad is not measured in light of its efficiency in achieving…

Prüfungsrecht und -pflicht der AG in Bezug auf das Aktieneigentum ihrer Aktionäre, v.a. auch im Zusammenhang mit den neuen Vorschriften des Global Forum-Gesetzes

In the recent past the ownership (title) due diligence in share deals, i.e. the due diligence regarding the seller’s unencumbered ownership in the sold shares, became more and more important in practice, as experience shows that in a high percentage of cases there are se­rious issues in this respect. This leads to the question on the scope of the examination rights and examination obligations of…

Generalversammlungen von AG: «Landsgemeinden» oder «Chatrooms»?

Digitalization will cause a fundamental change regarding general meetings of Swiss stock corporations. Currently, Swiss corporate law provides that shareholders must be physically present, or validly represented at a general meeting and may not participate in writing or by electronic means; the «COVID-19 regime», however, allows e.g. «cyber general meetings». The new Swiss law on corporations,…

Was ist «wirtschafts-verträgliches» Aktienrecht?

The last comprehensive overhaul of Swiss corporation law dates from 1991. The revised law was intended to provide more transparency, improve shareholder rights and set goalposts with respect to corporate organization and corporate powers. But the 1991 corporation law fell short of international standards, especially for listed companies. Numerous pieces of legislation and self-regulatory…

Aktien als digitalisierte Werte

Shares issued on a distributed ledger have already been designated as a future market standard. The potential of these dlt-shares is also acknowledged by the Swiss government, which has published a preliminary draft on the adaptation of federal law to developments in distributed ledger technology earlier this year. This essay focuses on various mainly private law issues related to the issuance…

Gedanken zum einstweiligen Rechtsschutz gegen pflichtwidriges Handeln von Verwaltungsräten

Swiss law does not allow for the challenge of resolutions taken by the board of directors of a corporation, and only in extreme cases they may be deemed null and void. However, according to a recent decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, this does not exclude claims against a corporation to enforce statutory rights that were denied by the board of directors. Against the background of this…

Die Regelung von Interessenkonflikten im Aktienrecht de lege lata und de lege ferenda

Conflicts of interest are a threat to the functioning of the board of directors and the management of a public limited company. This paper looks into the legal regime applicable in cases of a conflict of interest while dealing with third parties. It then tries to establish rules to safeguard an internal decision-making process solving conflicts of interest. Finally it assesses the effectiveness…

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…

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…

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…

Vorschläge zur Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. After the proposal was mainly well received it’s ready to take the next step: Since the Legal Affairs Committees decided to enter into the proposal the National Council will probably hold discussions 2017 (Winter Session). This year’s SZW Conference strongly focused on the proposal…

Der Aktionärbindungsvertrag: Einfache Gesellschaft oder Innominatvertrag?

The present article shows that shareholders agreements are not as of necessity general partnership agreements. As a rule they are rather innominate contracts for which the same rules apply as for nominate contracts, in particular re the questions of consensus, interpretation and amendments. In this respect the real will of the parties is relevant in the first place and only in the second place…

Vorbereitung und Durchsetzung von Aktionärsklagen: Wie kann die Informationsasymmetrie überwunden werden?

In order to improve the enforcement of directors’ liability in solvent companies, it is necessary to improve the access of shareholders to information in order to prepare a derivative suit. The Swiss company law revision project of 2016 provides such improvements by lowering the conditions under which a special audit can be appointed by the court (art. 697a seq. CO). However, the applicants…

Réflexions critiques sur l’adoption par la Suisse des normes du GAFI en ­matière de transparence des sociétés : du bricolage législatif à l’abolition des actions au porteur ?

As a result of the revised FATF recommendations issued in 2012, Switzerland, under international pressure, had no choice but to enact requirements aiming at creating more transparency with regard to the ownership and control of limited by share companies. In this context, the widespread possibility for Swiss companies to issue bearer shares was particularly at stake. Switzerland inserted these…

Kernfragen der Aktienrechtsrevision

On November 23, 2016, the Federal Council published its proposal for a revised law on companies limited by shares. This article deals with four key aspects of the proposed revision. First, it addresses the proposed amendments regar­ding the capital structure. The authors thereby focus on the rules for capital increases, decreases and the possibility to introduce a so called «capital band». Secon…

Corporate Governance auf der Blockchain

It is within the context of crypto-currencies that Blockchain first gained importance as a new technology. In the meantime, it has been recognized that this technology can also be used in the corporate environment. Such usage would have significant effects on corporate governance within companies (for example, in connection with the transparency of ownership, the handling of voting rights,…

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…

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…

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…

Der Konzern im neuen Rechnungslegungsrecht

As of January 1st, 2016 the new Swiss financial reporting law is fully applicable to groups of companies, leading to a more thorough regulation of their reporting rules. This foremost brings fundamental changes with regard to the preparation of consolidated annual accounts. Basis thereof is, that the duty to provide such accounts is no longer tied to the requirement of «common management» …

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…

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…

Rechenschaft und Transparenz als zentraler Teil der Governance oder als Selbstzweck?

The title of the essay is: “Accountability and Transparency as a function of governance or a function which ends in themselves?” Without transparency good corporate governance is not possible, since only informed decisions are dutiful decisions. Both, the general assembly of shareholders and the board must make decisions which are only possible if transparency is given. For example, for most…

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…

Proxy Advisors – Fluch oder Segen in der Corporate Governance?

The role of proxy advisors in the governance of listed companies has triggered criticism ranging from “box ticking” to “empty voting” and has sparked an intense debate on how to address these concerns. The author takes the view that – for the time being – proxy advisors are not a topic for the regulator. Many institutional investors owe their beneficiaries a fiduciary duty based on which they are…

Rückerstattung von Leistungen nach Art. 678 OR

Under the existing law, restitution claims as set out in art. 678 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO) have been rarely invoked. Reasons for this are the strict requirements of art. 678 para. 2 CO and, more importantly, deficiencies in the procedural incentive structure. In the present article, controversial issues regarding the existing law are analysed and commented on, followed by a discussion…

Stimmrechtsaktien zwischen Gestaltungsfreiheit und Minderheitenschutz

A recent controversy around the sale of a controlling stake in a well-known Swiss public company has brought shares with preferential voting rights (Stimm­rechtsaktien, actions à droit de vote privilégié) into the limelight. In spite of the public criticism, there is no empirical evidence that dual-class share structures negatively impact the value of listed companies. While a mandatory «one…