Creditor Protection in Private Companies: Anglo-German Perspectives for a European Legal Discourse (International Corporate Law and Financial Market Regulation)

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 11
Table Of Abbreviations......Page 13
England......Page 17
Germany......Page 22
Austria......Page 25
England......Page 26
Brunei......Page 32
Reichsgericht, Bundesgerichtshof......Page 33
Austria......Page 36
Terminology......Page 37
1. The Centros case: from Denmark to Delaware......Page 39
2. The European regulation on insolvency proceedings......Page 43
3. The interconnectedness of company law and insolvency law......Page 45
Germany......Page 50
United Kingdom......Page 55
1. 'Europäische Rechtswissenschaft'......Page 57
2. A functional approach to creditor protection......Page 58
3. Beyond functionalism......Page 61
4. Understanding foreign law - from Auslandsrechtskunde to a European legal discourse......Page 63
C. The scope and aims of this book......Page 69
(i) Language and terminology......Page 71
(ii) Stereoscopic view......Page 72
(iii) Discourse analysis......Page 73
(iv) An evolutionary perspective......Page 74
A. Introduction......Page 77
Initial terminological observations......Page 80
1. Avoidance remedies outside insolvency proceedings......Page 81
2. Additional grounds for avoidance in insolvency......Page 83
3. Insolvency tests and twilight periods......Page 85
1. The English approach......Page 88
2. The German approach......Page 93
3. Casting the net wide enough: 'legal act'  versus 'transaction'......Page 95
4. Direct detriment, unequal bargains and 'pure detriment' to creditors......Page 100
5. Indirect detriment......Page 105
1. The debtor's bad faith as justification for avoidance......Page 106
Additional grounds for transaction avoidance in insolvency under English law......Page 110
English law and German law compared......Page 113
2. The counterparty's awareness and alternative ways to protect commercial certainty......Page 115
Manifest detriment: congruent versus incongruent cover......Page 117
A German take on English law......Page 119
From principle to pragmatism......Page 121
E. Connected persons......Page 122
1. Germany......Page 123
2. England......Page 126
F. Summary and outlook......Page 128
A. Introduction......Page 132
1. Capital maintenance defined......Page 135
2. Capital, assets and the nature of distributions......Page 139
Capital maintenance and insolvency......Page 140
Alternative ways to make distributions to shareholders - concealed distributions......Page 141
3. Components of equity capital and restrictions on distributions......Page 143
Share capital and its reduction......Page 144
Distributions from the share premium account......Page 147
4. Equity capital available for immediate distribution......Page 148
5. The potential usefulness for creditors......Page 152
1. The statutory basis......Page 153
The German approach......Page 160
The English approach......Page 163
3. Distributions by way of value transfers to related third-party recipients......Page 169
D. Excursus: Equity-substituting shareholder credit (eigenkapitalersetzender Gesellschafterkredit)......Page 176
E. Summary and outlook......Page 179
A. Introduction......Page 183
1. Comparative classifications and the need for conceptual clarity......Page 184
2. The German approach to directors' duties and capital maintenance......Page 190
3. The English approach to directors' duties and capital maintenance......Page 196
Trust origins and the central role of fiduciary duties in English company law......Page 198
The fiduciary duty not to misapply company property and capital maintenance......Page 202
The court's discretion to relieve a director from liability......Page 207
C. Recipient liability based on a director's breach of fiduciary duty......Page 212
D. Summary and outlook......Page 216
A. Introduction......Page 218
1. Directors' personal liability in delict - internal versus external liability......Page 221
The relevant statutory provisions before and after the MoMiG......Page 226
Liability in delict and the distinction between 'old' and 'new' creditors......Page 233
3. An interim summary and an explanation......Page 242
1. Problems and perspectives - switching between legal systems......Page 246
Historic roots and contemporary classifications......Page 250
The claim against the director - is it an 'asset of the company'?......Page 252
The impact of the floating charge on the destination of recoveries......Page 256
The consequences for litigation funding in insolvency......Page 260
3. Wrongful trading and directors' duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence......Page 267
4. Wrongful trading and directors' fiduciary duty to consider the interests of creditors......Page 273
The scope of the doctrine - transaction avoidance and wrongful trading revisited......Page 277
The subjective side of the duty......Page 279
D. Summary and outlook......Page 282
Conclusions......Page 286
Legal evolution as a pattern of change and continuity......Page 287
Europeanisation of private law and EU legislation......Page 289
Towards a genuine European legal discourse......Page 290
Section 172. Duty to promote the success of the company......Page 295
Section 829. Meaning of ‘distribution’......Page 296
Section 836. Justification of distribution by reference to relevant accounts......Page 297
Section 1157. Power of court to grant relief in certain cases......Page 298
Section 123. Definition of inability to pay debts......Page 299
Section 212. Summary remedy against delinquent directors, liquidators, etc.......Page 300
Section 214. Wrongful trading......Page 301
Section 238. Transactions at an undervalue (England and Wales)......Page 302
Section 240. ‘Relevant time’ under ss. 238, 239......Page 303
Section 245. Avoidance of certain floating charges......Page 305
Section 423. Transactions defrauding creditors......Page 306
§ 30. Kapitalerhaltung......Page 307
§ 31. Restoration of forbidden repayments......Page 308
§ 43. Haftung der Geschaftsfuhrer......Page 309
§ 64. Duty to file for insolvency; liability......Page 310
German Insolvency Act (Insolvenzordnung, InsO)......Page 311
§ 17. Illiquidity......Page 312
§ 129. Principle......Page 313
§ 131. Inkongruente Deckung......Page 314
§ 132. Unmittelbar nachteilige Rechtshandlungen......Page 315
§ 133. Vorsatzliche Benachteiligung......Page 316
§ 134. Transfer without consideration......Page 317
Editorial Note On German Sources......Page 318
Bibliography......Page 321
Company Law Review Consultation Documents......Page 343
Index......Page 345