Corporate governance and social responsibility
A.A. 2023/2024
Obiettivi formativi
The course aims at providing students with a comprehensive description and analysis of the legal framework to discuss corporate governance and CSR issues
Risultati apprendimento attesi
At the end of the course students will have:
- a critical understanding of the fundamental questions currently debated in corporate law - an understanding of the state of the art of the CSR debate and of its main problems
- a picture of the regulatory framework in the field and its evolutions - the capacity to critically analyse the relevant legal rules.
Students will also acquire the ability to:
- engage in legal reasoning and discussion
- combine interdisciplinary knowledge
- compare different legal systems and link legal solutions with underlying socio
- economic factors
- present and discuss different point of views on the course's subject matter
- a critical understanding of the fundamental questions currently debated in corporate law - an understanding of the state of the art of the CSR debate and of its main problems
- a picture of the regulatory framework in the field and its evolutions - the capacity to critically analyse the relevant legal rules.
Students will also acquire the ability to:
- engage in legal reasoning and discussion
- combine interdisciplinary knowledge
- compare different legal systems and link legal solutions with underlying socio
- economic factors
- present and discuss different point of views on the course's subject matter
Periodo: Secondo semestre
Modalità di valutazione: Esame
Giudizio di valutazione: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Corso singolo
Questo insegnamento può essere seguito come corso singolo.
Programma e organizzazione didattica
Edizione unica
Responsabile
Periodo
Secondo semestre
Programma
What is a corporation? The foundations of corporate law
· Corporate law in action/1: Agency problems and legal strategies
· Corporate law in action/2: The interests of shareholders as a class
· Corporate law in action/3: Minority shareholders and non-shareholders
· Corporate law in action/4: the protection of creditors
· The theory of the corporation: the agency paradigm
· The theory of the corporation: an alternative view
· CSR and the corporate interest debate/1: the shareholder value, and a critique
· CSR and the corporate interest debate/2: the team production theory
· CSR in action: the EU, the OECD, the UN, and India
· CSR: the voluntary vs mandatory debate
. From CSR to sustainability: Due diligence and sustainable corporate governance; the corporate purpose debate
· The benefit corporation/1: the law
· The benefit corporation/2: the debate
· Stakeholder engagement and disclosure of non-financial information - from NFRD to CSRD
· Corporate law in action/1: Agency problems and legal strategies
· Corporate law in action/2: The interests of shareholders as a class
· Corporate law in action/3: Minority shareholders and non-shareholders
· Corporate law in action/4: the protection of creditors
· The theory of the corporation: the agency paradigm
· The theory of the corporation: an alternative view
· CSR and the corporate interest debate/1: the shareholder value, and a critique
· CSR and the corporate interest debate/2: the team production theory
· CSR in action: the EU, the OECD, the UN, and India
· CSR: the voluntary vs mandatory debate
. From CSR to sustainability: Due diligence and sustainable corporate governance; the corporate purpose debate
· The benefit corporation/1: the law
· The benefit corporation/2: the debate
· Stakeholder engagement and disclosure of non-financial information - from NFRD to CSRD
Prerequisiti
No specific prerequisite other than what provided by the LLM rules. A basic knowledge of the institutions of corporate law is recommended.
Metodi didattici
Students are expected to prepare readings in advance of classes when requested and to discuss reading materials in class.
Materiale di riferimento
Reading list might be subject to changes and/or updates in due course.
Introduction
The Business Roundtable, Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, August, 2019
https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/B
What is a corporation? The foundations of corporate law
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 1: What Is Corporate Law?
or
J. Armour, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, Foundations of Corporate Law, January 2017
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2906054
Corporate law in action/1: Agency problems and legal strategies
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 2: Agency Problems and Legal Strategies
or
J. Armour, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, Agency Problems, Legal Strategies, and Enforcement, 21 July 2009
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436555
Corporate law in action/2: The interests of shareholders as a class
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 3: The Basic Governance Structure: The Interests of Shareholders as A Class
or
J. Armour, L. Enriques, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, The Basic Governance Structure: The Interests of Shareholders as A Class, January 2017
http://ssrn.com/abstract_id=2901416
Corporate law in action/3: Minority shareholders and non-shareholders
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 4: The Basic Governance Structure: Minority Shareholders and Non-Shareholder Constituencies
Corporate law in action/4: The protection of creditors
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 5: The Basic Governance Structure: Transactions with Creditors
The theory of the corporation: the agency paradigm
Frank H. Easterbrook & Daniel R. Fischel, The Corporate Contract, 89 Columbia L. Rev. 1416 (1989)
http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles/1164
The theory of the corporation: an alternative view
Francesco Denozza and Alessandra Stabilini, Principals vs Principals: The Twilight of the "Agency Theory", 3 The Italian Law Journal No. 2 (2017), 512
https://www.theitalianlawjournal.it/denozzastabilini/
CSR and the corporate interest debate/1: the shareholder value, and a critique
Michael C. Jensen, Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Fall 2001
http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=220671
Ronald M. Green, Shareholders as Stakeholders: Changing Metaphors Of Corporate Governance, 50 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1409 (1993)
http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol50/iss4/4
CSR and the corporate interest debate/2: the team production theory
Margaret M. Blair, Lynn A. Stout, A Team Production Theory of Corporate Law, 85 Va. L. Rev. 247 (1999)
http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=425500
CSR in action: the EU, the OECD, the United Nations, and India
European Commission, A renewed strategy 2011-2014 for Corporate Social Responsability
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0681:FIN
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (esp. Part I)
http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/text/
UN Global Compact, The Ten Principles
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
India's Companies Act 2013 - Sec. 135
http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/CompaniesAct2013.pdf
CSR: the voluntary vs mandatory debate
F. Denozza, A. Stabilini, The Shortcomings of Voluntary Conceptions of CSR, in Orizzonti del Diritto commerciale (on-line review), n. 1/2013
http://images.rivistaodc.eu/f/articoli/87_articolo_CpGl4_ORIZZONTI.pdf
From CSR to sustainability
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12548-Sustainable-corporate-governance_en
The benefit corporation/1 - The law
Model Benefit Corporation Legislation (April 2017)
The benefit corporation/2 - The debate
Janine S. Hiller, The Benefit Corporation and Corporate Social Responsibility, J Bus Ethics (2013) 118:287
See attachment in Ariel
Kent Greenfield, A Skeptic's View of Benefit Corporations, Boston College Law School Research Paper 367, August 4, 2015
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2639788
Stakeholder engagement and disclosure of non-financial information - Directive 2014/95/UE
DIRECTIVE 2014/95/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32014L00
Communication from the Commission — Guidelines on non-financial reporting (methodology for reporting non-financial information)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0705(01)
Communication from the Commission — Guidelines on non-financial reporting: Supplement on reporting climate-related information (methodology for reporting non-financial information)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019XC0620(01)
DIRECTIVE 2017/828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 amending Directive 2007/36/EC as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32017L0828
Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU, as regards corporate sustainability reporting
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022L2464
Introduction
The Business Roundtable, Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, August, 2019
https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/B
What is a corporation? The foundations of corporate law
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 1: What Is Corporate Law?
or
J. Armour, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, Foundations of Corporate Law, January 2017
https://ssrn.com/abstract=2906054
Corporate law in action/1: Agency problems and legal strategies
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 2: Agency Problems and Legal Strategies
or
J. Armour, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, Agency Problems, Legal Strategies, and Enforcement, 21 July 2009
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1436555
Corporate law in action/2: The interests of shareholders as a class
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 3: The Basic Governance Structure: The Interests of Shareholders as A Class
or
J. Armour, L. Enriques, H. Hansmann, R. Kraakman, The Basic Governance Structure: The Interests of Shareholders as A Class, January 2017
http://ssrn.com/abstract_id=2901416
Corporate law in action/3: Minority shareholders and non-shareholders
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 4: The Basic Governance Structure: Minority Shareholders and Non-Shareholder Constituencies
Corporate law in action/4: The protection of creditors
Reiner Kraakman et al., The Anatomy of Corporate Law. A Comparative and Functional Approach, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017
Chapter 5: The Basic Governance Structure: Transactions with Creditors
The theory of the corporation: the agency paradigm
Frank H. Easterbrook & Daniel R. Fischel, The Corporate Contract, 89 Columbia L. Rev. 1416 (1989)
http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/journal_articles/1164
The theory of the corporation: an alternative view
Francesco Denozza and Alessandra Stabilini, Principals vs Principals: The Twilight of the "Agency Theory", 3 The Italian Law Journal No. 2 (2017), 512
https://www.theitalianlawjournal.it/denozzastabilini/
CSR and the corporate interest debate/1: the shareholder value, and a critique
Michael C. Jensen, Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Fall 2001
http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=220671
Ronald M. Green, Shareholders as Stakeholders: Changing Metaphors Of Corporate Governance, 50 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1409 (1993)
http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol50/iss4/4
CSR and the corporate interest debate/2: the team production theory
Margaret M. Blair, Lynn A. Stout, A Team Production Theory of Corporate Law, 85 Va. L. Rev. 247 (1999)
http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=425500
CSR in action: the EU, the OECD, the United Nations, and India
European Commission, A renewed strategy 2011-2014 for Corporate Social Responsability
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0681:FIN
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (esp. Part I)
http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/text/
UN Global Compact, The Ten Principles
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
India's Companies Act 2013 - Sec. 135
http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/CompaniesAct2013.pdf
CSR: the voluntary vs mandatory debate
F. Denozza, A. Stabilini, The Shortcomings of Voluntary Conceptions of CSR, in Orizzonti del Diritto commerciale (on-line review), n. 1/2013
http://images.rivistaodc.eu/f/articoli/87_articolo_CpGl4_ORIZZONTI.pdf
From CSR to sustainability
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12548-Sustainable-corporate-governance_en
The benefit corporation/1 - The law
Model Benefit Corporation Legislation (April 2017)
The benefit corporation/2 - The debate
Janine S. Hiller, The Benefit Corporation and Corporate Social Responsibility, J Bus Ethics (2013) 118:287
See attachment in Ariel
Kent Greenfield, A Skeptic's View of Benefit Corporations, Boston College Law School Research Paper 367, August 4, 2015
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2639788
Stakeholder engagement and disclosure of non-financial information - Directive 2014/95/UE
DIRECTIVE 2014/95/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2014 amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32014L00
Communication from the Commission — Guidelines on non-financial reporting (methodology for reporting non-financial information)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0705(01)
Communication from the Commission — Guidelines on non-financial reporting: Supplement on reporting climate-related information (methodology for reporting non-financial information)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019XC0620(01)
DIRECTIVE 2017/828 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 amending Directive 2007/36/EC as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32017L0828
Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU, as regards corporate sustainability reporting
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022L2464
Modalità di verifica dell’apprendimento e criteri di valutazione
Class attendance is mandatory. Admittance to the final exam will be reserved to students who will achieve 75% class attendance.
The final exam will be in writing with an optional oral integration (further information will be provided at the beginning of the course).
The final exam will be in writing with an optional oral integration (further information will be provided at the beginning of the course).
Docente/i
Ricevimento:
In generale su appuntamento via mail
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