Featured Articles
Post-Transparency Directive - Liability for Reports and Statements
Nick Eastwell
Historically there was no statutory regime conferring a right to compensation on shareholders and investors for errors in, and omissions from, a company’s financial statements, and the common law of torts had to be relied upon in any such action. It is generally accepted, applying the principles laid down by the House of Lords in Caparo Industries plc v Dickman (which concerned the liability of auditors), that directors have a duty of care to shareholders as a whole to enable them to exercise their governance rights but not, in the absence of circumstances creating proximity or a special relationship, to individual shareholders in relation to their investment or to potential investors or other third parties.
Capital Markets and the Selection of The Capital Markets Lawyer
Christoph Wolf
Executive director Morgan Stanley (legal and compliance division)
Capital markets had a strong year in 2006 and 2007 has also had a solid first half; they are characterised by high liquidity and investors’ quest for attractive investments.
The Less Than Almighty Dollar: or Why US Arbitrators Should Consider Awards of Damages in a Foreign Currency
Jeremy Harwood
It is said that the general principle in awarding damages for breach of contract is to compensate the injured party for its loss and not for the gain, if any, to the defendant.
Project Finance Outlook and the Selection of Counsel
Jonathan Marsh
In the integrated oil and gas sector, three main trends underway currently should affect projects over the near term. Host countries increasingly challenge private sector contractual rights. In the face of this challenge, there is tremendous liquidity in the markets, targeting comparatively higher yield,lower risk, long term non-recourse project finance, coupled with relatively high commodity prices, despite recent market corrections. I believe that despite the property rights challenge, we can be fairly confident that the oil and gas industry will continue to see robust investment in major projects over the coming years, although we can expect the jurisdictions most hostile to foreign private investment to suffer from under-investment and delayed development.
International Cooperation - The Recent Development of the English Approach
Mark Andrews
International cooperation in insolvency proceedings is not a new idea in the United Kingdom. Given our national history as a mercantile power, it is not surprising that our courts have long experience of handling the problems thrown up by cross-border business failures.
The Science and Art of International Restructurings
Evan D Flaschen
Restructurings have been occurring since virtually the dawn of man or, to be a bit more accurate, since the dawn of credit. When a caveman failed to return a borrowed stone chisel for the first time, surely the method employed to enforce return of the tool was as certain as it was brutal.
Continuing Developments in Product Liability Litigation
Yves St-Arnaud
Director of legal services Bombardier Recreational Products Inc
While the substantive law of product liability is well-settled in the United States, the amendments incorporating electronic discovery into the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure add a level of complexity to product liability litigation, which in its own right is already complex. Litigants have little choice in the matter, however: electronic discovery in the federal courts is mandatory.
Management Labour & Employment Issues in India
M R Prasanna
General counsel Aditya Birla Group
The Aditya Birla Group, of which I am general counsel, is India’s premier MNC and is anchored by a workforce of 82,000 employees belonging to over 20 different nationalities. Although the Group has a presence in 15 countries, this article discusses the labour and employment issues in India, where the Group is most active.
The Battle over the Election Ballot : A survey of the Movement to Reform the Director Election System for US Corporations
A Gilchrist Sparks III
James D Honaker
Although bitter proxy contests for corporate directorships occasionally make headlines in financial newspapers that follow US corporations, it is the absence of proxy contests at most stockholder meetings that is attracting the attention of corporate governance activists. In the wake of Enron and other scandals that undermined confidence in the current system for managing corporations, activists are demanding that stockholders play a greater role in corporate governance. These activists have targeted the director election system as one vehicle for enhancing stockholder power over corporate affairs.
Supply Options and Challenges for the Gas-Hungry Indian Market
Geoffrey Picton-Turbervill
Anthony Patten
The continued rise of the Indian economy and China’s growing appetite for foreign energy sources have become two of the major geopolitical issues of the nascent 21st century. Both within the Asia-Pacific region and as far afield as Africa and the Middle East, state-controlled Chinese oil and gas companies have demonstrated their willingness to bid for foreign oil and gas assets whenever and wherever available. India too is looking beyond its shores in order to satisfy its significant demand for energy.