Suchergebnisse für droits et obligations des actionnaires

Exception de l’entreprise défaillante: une résurgence en temps de crise?

The Failing Company Defence is a merger control law defence which enables the merging parties to avoid the prohibition that would normally apply to their merger by relying on the failure of one of them, i.e. the fact that one of the merging firms would exit the market if the merger was prohibited. Competition authorities generally require the fulfilment of restrictive conditions and hence rarely…

Sustainable Purpose-Driven Enterprises

Social enterprises (in a broad sense), including those launched by social (or sustainable) entrepreneurs (or Sustainable Purpose-Driven Entities) are important players to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Developing a legal framework that allows them to prosper has been a priority of the European Commission since 2010. These entities have recently been endorsed by the United…

Actions de loyauté : une fausse bonne idée

Over its summer session 2018, the Swiss National Council adopted the possibility for companies limited by shares (sociétés anonymes/Aktiengesellschaften) to include in their articles of association certain financial privileges to the benefit of shareholders registered for at least two consecutive years in the share register (loyalty shares). This article presents the legislative work in progress…

Identification des actionnaires, restrictions de transfert et « white listings »

Identification of shareholders is a topic that is governed by various layers of rules under Swiss law, which were adopted at different times to serve different purposes. Most of these rules were adopted at a time when the structure of capital markets was very different from what it is today, and before the digitalization of securities became a topic. Also, growing focus on the fight against money…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2022/2023 | Le droit des sociétés 2022/2023

Im berücksichtigten Zeitraum vom 1. April 2022 bis zum 31. März 2023 wurden wenige Urteile gefällt und nur ein Bruchteil davon wurden veröffentlicht bzw. zur Veröffentlichung vorgesehen. Trotzdem…

La banque et le créancier prêteur face à l’insolvabilité de l’emprunteur : moyens préventifs et curatifs

In a contractual relationship, a bank, or more generally a lender, on the one hand, and a borrower on the other, harmoniously blend, as long as the borrower complies with the repayments’ obligations arising from the loan agreement. However, in such an agreement, risk lies primarily on the lender. Indeed, as soon as the money has been made available, the lender takes the default’s risk. This…

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…

Marge de fluctuation du capital (art. 653s ss nCO) : de la sauvegarde des créanciers et des actionnaires, en particulier lors de l’acquisition par la SA de ses propres actions

As of the entry into force, on 1^st January 2023, of the revised Swiss Limited Companies Law (« Aktiengesell­schaft », « société anonyme »), the margin of fluctuation of capital (« Kapitalband », « marge de fluctuation du capital ») will allow the general assembly of shareholders to authorise the board of directors to increase or reduce the share capital within a certain interval during a maximum…

Le droit des sociétés 2021/2022 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2021/2022

Cette année, le Tribunal fédéral a eu l’occasion de se prononcer sur des questions dont on peut s’étonner qu’elles se posent pour la première fois à lui, compte tenu des discussions qu’elles ont…

Le rôle du représentant indépendant des actionnaires en droit suisse de la société anonyme, notamment à l’aune de la législation COVID et des assemblées générales virtuelles du nouveau droit

The independent proxy emerged in Swiss company law a few years ago through the back door of the Minder initiative (Article 95 Federal Constitution). This constitutional provision was then implemented by the Ordinance against Excessive Remuneration in Listed Companies Limited by Shares (ORAb), which has been in force since 1 January 2014. Its institution has been given a new lease of life with the…

Les nouveaux droits des actionnaires en matière de restitution et d’accès à l’information

The 19 June 2020 revision of the provisions on the limited by shares company seeks to enhance corporate governance with further transparency and additional shareholder protection. The return of undue benefits claim (art. 678 para. 1 nCO) has been modified to offer Swiss companies and their shareholders a better possibility to obtain redress. This revision also addresses the shareholders’ need to…

Sociétés hybrides, entreprises sociales, B-Corp: Le droit suisse est-il approprié?

Entrepreneurs have to increasingly navigate in a world where they cannot ignore their accountability towards the SDGs and society in general. Companies in fact are expected to consider the interests of all stakeholders, and management is required to adopt a long-term and sustainable vision, in which making profits goes hand in hand with the necessity to create a positive impact. This trend is…

Corporate Governance et liberté d’organisation

The question of limits to contractual freedom in corporate law is intensively discussed in connection with corporate governance. In that context, the tension between authority and accountability of the board of directors and the best way to address this issue in corporate law are two of the most controversial topics. Over these last years, the trend in almost all jurisdictions has been to…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2020/2021 Le droit des sociétés 2020/2021

Auch dieses Jahr befassten sich die Gerichte wieder eingehend mit der Thematik der aktienrechtlichen Verantwortlichkeit und brachten einige interessante Entscheide insbesondere im Zusammenhang mit…

Trois modèles de contrôle des investissements transfrontaliers

The screening of foreign investment has become a growing concern for many countries. In the midst of a trade war between the US and China as well as issues related to state-owned companies’ interference in the EU, it is bound to become a subject of heated debates in Switzerland. As we continue to live through a global pandemic, some countries are seeing themselves lacking or at least vulnerable…

Les clauses statutaires relatives au transfert des actions de la société anonyme

This article deals with the admissibility of statutory acquisition clauses with regard to the right of the free transmissibility of shares (Art. 685 ss of the Swiss Code of Obligations, CO) and the prohibition of additional obligations at shareholders’s cost (Art. 680 CO). In order to resolve this issue, a distinction must be made between statutory acquisition clauses relating to the shares of…

Entrepreneuriat et incapacité: responsabilité illimitée et direction de sociétés

The contribution focuses on persons under an adult protection measure that deprives them (totally or partially) of civil capacity (legal capacity). The authors consider that the need for protection of these persons is incompatible with any status involving unlimited liability for debts related to a going concern as well as with the functions of a manager of a commercial company. This…

Le droit des sociétés 2019/2020 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2019/2020

La décision judiciaire la plus importante de l’année écoulée concerne le droit des groupes de sociétés, à savoir le Cash Pooling, mais cette fois dans le contexte de la responsabilité du conseil d’administration (1.). Un autre arrêt important clarifie l’exercice de la clause échappatoire pour le refus au transfert des actions nominatives liées (2.). La jurisprudence a en outre eu l…

Pièges fiscaux du contrat de prêt

This contribution deals with the tax « traps » of the loan agreement. Loans are usually quite simple from a tax standpoint since they are neutral. Yet, the author examines three specific instances where things do not turn out so well. The first of which is the cancellation of ­indebtedness, which may result in taxable income ­(Article 16 par. 1 or Article 18 par. 1 Direct Federal Tax Law)…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2018/2019 / Le droit des sociétés 2018/2019

Im vergangenen Jahr stechen wiederum die Verantwortlichkeitsklagen gegen geschäftsführende Organe hervor (1.). Die weiteren Fälle betreffen die Akkreditierung von Revisoren (2.) sowie die Rechtsprechung zur Vertretung der Gesellschaft bei Interessenkonflikten (3.) und die gemischte Anwalts-AG (4.).

Le fonds de placement contractuel immobilier et la Lex Koller

This contribution discusses the treatment of Swiss real estate funds under the Lex Koller. It explains that for­eigners (in the meaning of Lex Koller) may acquire fund’s units and/or shares or participation certificates in the capital of the fund management company (up to full holding) without a Lex Koller authorization. The analysis takes into account the consequences of such purchases on future…

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…

Le droit des sociétés 2017/2018 / Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2017/2018

Au cours de l’année écoulée, en plus du point final porté à l’affaire Sika (1.), un certain nombre de décisions se sont distinguées. Le Tribunal fédéral est revenu sur l’exorbitance des conventions d…

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…

Financement intragroupe et Cash Pooling : Quelle évolution ?

Cross-financing between affiliated companies, a subject at the heart of a group’s strategy, is a daily reality that remains largely ignored by current law and jurisprudence. The latest developments in court decisions seem to increase the discrepancy between the economic needs of the group and the legal requirements for protection of capital of each entity. Thus, since the Swisscargo ruling of the…

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…

Les avantages (statutaires) particuliers de l’art. 628 al. 3 CO : ­une alternative méconnue aux conventions d’actionnaires

Swiss Company Law provides for a «one size fits all» form of limited by shares companies. The underlying idea is that the articles of association can be customized in order to fit the needs of each particular case. On the other hand however flexibility is limited, in particular due to the fact that besides payment of an emission price for their shares, the articles of association cannot put any…

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…

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…

La banque exposée aux prétentions de tiers : art. 402 CO et rétention ­d’actifs de clients

The so-called claw-back suits filed by the liquidators of Fairfield Sentry and other feeder funds involved in Bernard Madoff’s bankruptcy have prompted the defendant banks to secure their recourse against their clients by withholding money and other assets in their custody. This article analyses the legal basis for the retention of client assets under Swiss law. It concludes that, except when the…

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…

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…

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 …

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 «…

Know Your Customer : Quo Vadis ?

Know your client (KYC) is now an essential due diligence requirement for all banking business. The concept only appeared relatively recently in legislation, however, in conjunction with increased efforts to combat organised crime and money laundering. For around 40 years, the scope and content of know your client has continued to expand, sometimes in stark contrast to other standards. This article…

L’affaire Sika : un exemple en faveur d’une approche économique des transferts d’actions soumis à l’agrément de la société

The ongoing litigation between the Swiss company Sika SA and the owners of its Swiss shareholder ­Schenker-Winkler Holding SA over the sale of the shares of the latter to the French group Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a competitor of Sika SA, has attracted consi­d­erable media and public attention. When completed, this sale will give Compag­nie de Saint-Gobain the effective control over Sika SA…

Montesquieu en droit des sociétés anonymes : le principe de la parité constitue-t-il une distribution des pouvoirs bénéfiques ou plutôt un lit de Procuste ?

The current system of distribution of powers is governed by the “parity principle”, which provides that a defined number of powers are vested exclusively with the board of directors. The board is responsible for the accomplishment of these “inalienable” powers, the shareholders may not give any instructions or guidance to the board in this respect. The principle suffers only very few exceptions…

« Comply or explain » : la solution au dilemme des quotas ?

Swiss listed companies are familiar with the “comply or explain” principle imposed by the SIX corporate governance directive, and more recently by economiesuisse’s (private) governance code. In November 2014, the Federal Council proposed to amend the Code of obligations (“CO”) to introduce such a principle in relation with a 30% “women” quota, which would apply to boards of large listed companies…

Gouvernance des sociétés de famille – Quels sont les enjeux ?

The current corporate law revision aims namely at improving good governance rules. In this respect, the preliminary Federal Council draft bill, for which the consultation process was opened back in November 2014, puts forward several measures aiming at strengthening the protection of minority shareholders. The author considers that the existing shortcomings in the governance of private companies…

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…

Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainable Development et Corporate ­Governance : quelles corrélations ?

Companies are not only members of civil society but are also integral and essential parties to the socio-economic context in which they develop. It is thus legitimate to wonder about their role and “societal” responsibility. The concept of corporate social responsibility is the idea that private companies are supposed to care not only about short-term profit in the interest of their shareholders…

Publicité des participations et principe de légalité – Mythe ou réalité ?

Instances in which non-compliance with financial regu­lations can give rise to a criminal liability are on the rise. This creates a tension between the need for flex­i­bility in the implementation of financial laws and the requirement that behaviours that may give rise to a criminal conviction be clearly defined by law. The rules on disclosure of shareholdings in listed companies are an example…

Développements du droit suisse des OPA

This survey of Swiss takeover law focuses on some of the most interesting recent transactions, which are discussed under three aspects : material and territorial scope of the law ; companies which have opted out of mandatory offer for shareholders who pass the 33⅓ % threshold ; and share buy back programs. We also discuss the controversial issue whether a bidder may subject its offer to a…

Éditorial | Editorial

Ce deuxième numéro de l’année est principalement consacré au droit bancaire. La diversité des sujets traités reflète un thème central, une grande préoccupation des intermédiaires financiers et de…

Das Gesellschaftsrecht 2014/Le droit des sociétés 2014

Das hervorstechende Ereignis im Berichtsjahr ist die schnelle und umfassende Konsolidierung der business judgement rule in der bundesgerichtlichen Rechtsprechung zur Organverantwortlichkeit (I.1)…