Germany’s Corporate and Financial Law 2007

Die Ent­wick­lung des deut­schen Gesell­schafts- und Kapi­tal­markt­rechts wird beschrie­ben und ana­ly­siert in einem neuen Arbeits­pa­pier, das Dr. Zetz­sche und ich für inter­na­tio­nale Leser, aber nicht nur für diese, ver­fasst haben. 

GER­MANY’S COR­PO­RATE AND FINAN­CIAL LAW 2007: (GET­TING) READY FOR COM­PE­TI­TION

This draft pro­vi­des an over­view of the sta­tus of cor­po­rate and finan­cial law making in Ger­many in 2007 and exami­nes the dri­ving for­ces behind cur­rent reforms. It also con­si­ders amend­ments to tax and accoun­ting law that are rela­ted to cor­po­rate and finan­cial law. The aut­hors pro­vide brief comments on pen­ding legis­la­tive steps and mea­sure the impact of the reforms on the over­all struc­ture of Ger­man busi­ness law.

The paper ser­ves three pur­po­ses. Firstly, it pro­vi­des an insight into the dyna­mic deve­lo­p­ment of Ger­man cor­po­rate and finan­cial law under the influ­ence of Euro­pean, natio­nal, and inter­na­tio­nal reform agen­das. Secondly, it reve­als that the Ger­man legis­la­ture responds to com­pe­ti­tive pres­sure in the mar­ket for incor­po­ra­ti­ons through ser­vice-ori­en­ted law making and inno­va­tive reforms. Gene­rally spea­king, these reforms fol­low three lines: 1) Sim­pli­fy­ing the cur­rent law; 2) Incre­a­sing fle­xi­bi­lity for issu­ers, inves­tors and mar­ket par­ti­ci­pants; and 3) Ope­ning Ger­man law as an option for for­eign cor­po­ra­ti­ons. Finally, it deve­lops the working hypo­the­sis requi­ring fur­ther tes­ting in the future that the Ger­man legal sys­tem has regai­ned strength as a role model for other sta­tes. This eman­ci­pa­tion comes after almost 20 years of ​„per­ma­nent cor­po­rate law reform” in which pri­ma­rily pro­vi­si­ons stem­ming from for­eign (Anglo-Ame­ri­can) juris­dic­tions were adop­ted and the Ger­man cor­po­rate and finan­cial law was tur­ned from upside down.