DOCSLIB.ORG

Bærekraftige Selskaper

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bærekraftige Selskaper Bærekraftige selskaper Om bærekraft i aksjeloven Kandidatnummer: 515 Leveringsfrist: 25. november 2019 Antall ord: 17 986 Innholdsfortegnelse 1 INNLEDNING .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Tema .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Aktualitet – et samfunnsøkonomisk perspektiv ................................................................ 2 1.3 Planetens tålegrenser ......................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Problemstilling og avgrensinger ........................................................................................ 4 1.5 Metode og terminologi ...................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Videre fremstilling ............................................................................................................ 7 2 BÆREKRAFTENS PÅVIRKNING I AKSJESELSKAPSRETTEN ........................... 8 2.1 Innledning .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Grl. § 112 ........................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Bærekraftens påvirkning i aksjeloven ............................................................................. 10 2.4 EU-lovgivning ................................................................................................................. 12 2.4.1 TFEU artikkel 11 ............................................................................................... 12 2.4.2 EØS-avtalen ....................................................................................................... 12 2.4.3 Primærrett og sekundærrett ................................................................................ 13 2.4.4 Bærekraftige initiativer ...................................................................................... 15 2.4.5 Ikke-finansiell rapportering ................................................................................ 15 2.5 Folkerettslig og internasjonal påvirkning ........................................................................ 16 3 ØKONOMISK VINNING ............................................................................................... 18 3.1 Innledning ........................................................................................................................ 18 3.2 Aksjeselskapets formål og gevinstkravet i asl. § 2-2 (2) ................................................. 19 3.3 Bærekraft i asl. § 2-2 (2) ................................................................................................. 22 4 AKSJEEIERNE ................................................................................................................ 23 4.1 Innledning ........................................................................................................................ 23 4.2 Generalforsamlingens kompetanse .................................................................................. 24 4.3 Aksjonærenes mulighet til å endre til en mer bærekraftig virksomhet ........................... 24 4.3.1 Generalforsamlingsbeslutning ........................................................................... 24 4.3.2 Avstå fra eller redusere utbytte .......................................................................... 25 4.3.3 Valg av selskapets styre ..................................................................................... 26 4.3.4 Vedtektsendring ................................................................................................. 27 4.4 Asl. § 5-21 ....................................................................................................................... 27 4.5 Aksjeeiernes kultur og natur ............................................................................................ 28 4.6 Sanksjoner i aksjeloven ................................................................................................... 29 i 4.6.1 Aksjeeiers adgang til å reise søksmål ved ugyldig generalforsamlingsbeslutning .......................................................................................................................... 29 4.6.2 Aksjeeiers erstatningsansvar .............................................................................. 30 5 STYRET OG LEDELSE ................................................................................................. 32 5.1 Innledning ........................................................................................................................ 32 5.2 Tilfeller der styret og selskapets ledelse skal sette bærekraft foran aksjonærenes gevinstmål ...................................................................................................................... 33 5.2.1 Bærekraft følger av selskapets vedtekter ........................................................... 33 5.2.2 Generalforsamlingsbeslutninger ........................................................................ 34 5.2.3 Bærekraftskrav som følger av lov eller forskrift ................................................ 34 5.3 Tilfeller der styret og selskapets ledelse kan sette bærekraft foran aksjonærenes gevinstmål ...................................................................................................................... 35 5.3.1 Etiske valg .......................................................................................................... 35 5.3.2 Utbytte ................................................................................................................ 36 5.4 Mulige konsekvenser for styret og selskapets ledelse av å sette bærekraft foran aksjonærens gevinstmål ................................................................................................. 36 5.4.1 Avsetting av styremedlem og daglig leder ......................................................... 36 5.4.2 Honorering av styrets medlemmer ..................................................................... 37 5.4.3 Erstatningsansvar ............................................................................................... 38 5.5 Håndheving av regelverk ................................................................................................. 39 5.5.1 Styrets myndighetsmisbruksregel ...................................................................... 39 5.5.2 Styremedlemmer og daglig leders adgang til å reise søksmål om ugyldig generalforsamlingsbeslutning ........................................................................... 40 5.5.3 Miljøvernbestemmelser ...................................................................................... 40 5.5.4 Sosial bærekraft .................................................................................................. 42 5.6 Rapportering .................................................................................................................... 44 6 BÆREKRAFT I AKSJELOVEN – RETTSPOLITISKE REFLEKSJONER ........... 46 6.1 Er det tilstrekkelig å tolke aksjeloven som bærekraftig? ................................................ 46 6.2 En allmenn foretaksansvarslov ........................................................................................ 47 6.3 Veien videre: En bærekraftig aksjeselskapsrett ............................................................... 49 KILDELISTE ......................................................................................................................... 52 ii 1 Innledning 1.1 Tema Temaet for oppgaven er bærekraft i norsk aksjeselskapsrett. Aksjeselskaper er en del av glo- bale verdikjeder som påvirker samfunnet, den globale økonomien og planetens tålegrenser. Selskapene bidrar til økonomisk utvikling og gevinst, men samtidig påvirker selskapenes ak- tiviteter naturen og forårsaker miljøproblemer. Aksjeloven har ingen bestemmelser som direk- te omhandler bærekraftig utvikling. Det fremgår forutsetningsvis av aksjeloven § 2-2 (2) at aksjeselskapets formål er å frembringe økonomisk utbytte for selskapets aksjeeiere. Dersom selskapet har et annet formål, må dette fremgå av selskapets vedtekter. Ønsket om en bærekraftig samfunnsutvikling reflekteres i Grunnloven § 112. Bestemmelsen fremhever at naturressursene skal bevares på en slik måte at de ikke ødelegges for fremtidige generasjoner. Globalt fremheves ønsket om en bærekraftig utvikling i FNs bærekraftsmål som ble vedtatt i 2015. Bærekraftsmålene består av 17 delmål for en bærekraftig utvikling fram mot år 2030, og målene ser bærekraftig økonomi i sammenheng med blant annet miljø og so- sial utvikling. EU har etablert flere initiativer og bestemmelser vedrørende virksomheter for å nå FNs bærekraftsmål. Norge er dermed forpliktet både gjennom internasjonale avtaler og EØS-avtalen til å fremme en bærekraftig utvikling. Imidlertid faller ofte små og mellomstore aksjeselskaper utenfor de fleste overordnede reguleringer fra EU, noe som har ført til at de nevnte selskapene er mindre regulert på bærekraftsområdet enn mange andre virksomheter. Myndigheter og lovgivers utfordring er å balansere målet om et bærekraftig samfunn med be- hovet for økonomisk vekst som ligger til grunn for velferdssamfunnet. Det bør legges til rette for at aksjeselskaper kan drive lønnsom virksomhet,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Possible European Delaware - Can the European Private Company Prevent It?
    J ÖNKÖPING I NTERNATIONAL B USINESS S C H O O L Jönköping University A Possible European Delaware - Can the European Private Company Prevent It? Master’s thesis within International Company Law Author: Karolina Carlsson Tutor: Edward Humphreys Jönköping May 2006 I NTERNATIONELLA H ANDELSHÖGSKOLAN HÖGSKOLAN I JÖNKÖPING Ett möjligt europeiskt Delaware – Kan det hindras av det Privata Europabolaget? Filosofie magisteruppsats inom Internationell Bolagsrätt Författare: Karolina Carlsson Handledare: Edward Humphreys Framläggningsdatum 2006-05-31 Jönköping maj 2006 Master’s Thesis in International Company Law Title: A PossibPossiblele European Delaware ––– Can the European Private CoCom-m-m-m- pany PrPreeeeventvent it? Author: Karolina Carlsson Tutor: Edward Humphreys Date : 2006-05-31 Subject terms: Regulatory competition, European Delaware Abstract The European market is constantly changing and business across national borders is be- coming a daily feature. Companies no longer settle for trading within their own national borders and perhaps cannot even afford to restrict themselves to such a small area if they wish to expand. The new view of EC Company Law given by the European Court of Jus- tice makes it possible for companies to move to another Member State and still be recog- nised as a legitimate company. This view is based on the incorporation theory, i.e. the the- ory that a company shall be governed by the law of the state in which it is incorporated. However, with this change come new threats to the market. Scholars fear that the Euro- pean market will take the same approach as that of the US, where the state of Delaware has been able to attract more than half of the larger enterprises on the market in the regulatory competition between the states.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Corporate Law?
    ISSN 1936-5349 (print) ISSN 1936-5357 (online) HARVARD JOHN M. OLIN CENTER FOR LAW, ECONOMICS, AND BUSINESS THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF CORPORATE LAW: WHAT IS CORPORATE LAW? John Armour, Henry Hansmann, Reinier Kraakman Discussion Paper No. 643 7/2009 Harvard Law School Cambridge, MA 02138 This paper can be downloaded without charge from: The Harvard John M. Olin Discussion Paper Series: http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/olin_center/ The Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection: http://papers.ssrn.com/abstract_id=####### This paper is also a discussion paper of the John M. Olin Center’s Program on Corporate Governance. The Essential Elements of Corporate Law What is Corporate Law? John Armour University of Oxford - Faculty of Law; Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) Henry Hansmann Yale Law School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) Reinier Kraakman Harvard Law School; John M. Olin Center for Law; European Corporate Governance Institute Abstract: This article is the first chapter of the second edition of The Anatomy of Corporate Law: A Comparative and Functional Approach, by Reinier Kraakman, John Armour, Paul Davies, Luca Enriques, Henry Hansmann, Gerard Hertig, Klaus Hopt, Hideki Kanda and Edward Rock (Oxford University Press, 2009). The book as a whole provides a functional analysis of corporate (or company) law in Europe, the U.S., and Japan. Its organization reflects the structure of corporate law across all jurisdictions, while individual chapters explore the diversity of jurisdictional approaches to the common problems of corporate law. In its second edition, the book has been significantly revised and expanded.
    [Show full text]
  • Corporations in European Private International Law – from Case-Law to Codification?
    Corporations in European Private International Law – From Case-Law to Codification? Professor Dr. Jan von Hein, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg (Germany) I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 II. THE COMPETITION OF LEGAL ORDERS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ............................................................... 4 1. THE US MODEL .................................................................................................................................................. 4 2. HORIZONTAL COMPETITION AMONG THE EU MEMBER STATES .................................................................................... 7 3. VERTICAL COMPETITION: EUROPEAN CORPORATIONS VIS-A-VIS DOMESTIC TYPES ............................................................ 7 4. TRANSATLANTIC COMPETITION BETWEEN THE EU AND THE USA .................................................................................. 9 TH III. THE ECJ’S TURN TO THE THEORY OF INCORPORATION AT THE END OF THE 20 CENTURY ....................... 10 1. DAILY MAIL ...................................................................................................................................................... 10 2. CENTROS, ÜBERSEERING AND INSPIRE ART ............................................................................................................. 10 IV. THE GERMAN COUNCIL’S PROPOSAL FOR CODIFYING A EUROPEAN PIL OF CORPORATIONS .................... 12 V. THE
    [Show full text]
  • Codetermination: a Viable Strategy for the United States?
    CODETERMINATION: A VIABLE STRATEGY FOR THE UNITED STATES? JEREMY A. TRIMBLE* I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................169 II. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN GERMANY.............................172 A. Introduction to the German Corporate Governance System .......................................................172 B. The Development of German Codetermination............174 C. European Union Corporate Law ..................................177 III. PERFORMANCE OF THE GERMAN CODETERMINATION SYSTEM ................................................................................180 A. Does the German Codetermination System Meet its Policy Goals? ...................................................181 B. Do Companies Willingly Choose Codetermination? ..........................................................183 IV. DOMESTIC CALLS FOR STAKEHOLDER RIGHTS....................190 V. APPLYING CODETERMINATION IN THE U.S. ........................191 VI. CONCLUSION........................................................................195 I. INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been considerable concern over the treatment and pay of workers in large corporations within the United States (U.S.). This has generated enough concern that bills have been introduced to the Senate to fundamentally change the way corporations interact with their employees, evidenced most recently by Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Accountable Capitalism Act and Senator Bernie Sanders’ STOP BEZOS Act. These acts sought to force large corporations
    [Show full text]
  • 09 Teichmann 202..229
    Corporate Groups within the Legal Framework of the European Union: The Group-Related Aspects of the SUP Proposal and the EU Freedom of Establishment by Christoph Teichmann* Many people see the typical corporate group as a big and powerful multi-national economic entity. In company law, however, the notion of a group is not related to the size of the business. Even smaller businesses often operate through groups. In order to support cross border activities of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), the proposal for a single- member company (Societas Unius Personae – SUP) aims at facilitating the incorporation and management of subsidiaries. As will be shown in this article, there is an interconnection between the European freedom of establishment and the functioning of cross-border corpo- rate groups. The latter aspect is also addressed by particular provisions in the SUP Proposal dealing with the internal organization of an SUP.There remains, however, an important gap, since the SUP Proposal does not regulate the question as to whether the parent SME is allowed to manage its SUP subsidiaries in the interest of the group. The article concludes that the aspect of a diligent cross-border group management needs further attention by the EU legislator. Table of Contents ECFR 2015, 202–229 I. Group-Related Aspects of the SUP Proposal .................... 203 1. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises as the Major Beneficiaries . .... 203 2. Facilitating the Establishment of Subsidiaries ................. 205 3. Facilitating the Management of Subsidiaries .................. 206 II. The two Perspectives on Group Law ......................... 208 1. Protective Function of Group Law . ...................... 209 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom of Choice in European Corporate Law
    Freedom of Choice in European Corporate Law t Jens C. Dammann I. IN TRO D U CTIO N ............................................................................................................................477 ........................ II. CAN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY GRANT FREE CHOICE? ................................... 483 A . The R eal Seat R ule ......................................................................................................483 B . R eincorporation ..............................................................................................................487 1. Corp orate L aw ....................................................................................................487 2. Taxation ..............................................................................................................490 3. Conclusions on Reincorporation ........................................................................491 C. The Need To Litigate in the State of Incorporation........................................................ 492 1. The Need To Litigate in the State of Incorporationas a Burden ........................492 2. Legal Factors that Compel the CorporationTo Litigate in the State of Incorp oration...................................................................................................... 493 3. PracticalFactors that Compel the CorporationTo Litigate in the State of Incorporation ......................................................................................................497 D. Language Barriersand
    [Show full text]
  • Corporate Mobility in the European Union – Legal Research Paper Series
    LEGAL RESEARCH PAPER SERIES Paper No 34/2013 This version: June 2013 Corporate Mobility in the European Union – a Flash in the Pan? An empirical study on the success of lawmaking and regulatory competition WOLF-GEORG RINGE This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network electronic library at: <http://ssrn.com/abstract=2247323> An index to the working papers in the University of Oxford Legal Research Paper Series is located at: <http://www.ssrn.com/link/oxford-legal-studies.html> Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2247323 University of Oslo University of Oslo Faculty of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series No. 2013-19 Wolf-Georg Ringe Corporate Mobility in the European Union – A Flash in the Pan? An Empirical Study on the Success of Lawmaking and Regulatory Competition Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2247323 * WOLF-GEORG RINGE Corporate Mobility in the European Union – a Flash in the Pan? An empirical study on the success of lawmaking and regulatory competition ABSTRACT This paper discusses new data on regulatory competition in European company law and the impact of national law reforms, using the example of English company law forms being used by German start-ups. Since 1999, entrepreneurs in the EU have been allowed to select foreign legal forms to govern their affairs. The data show that English limited companies were very popular with German entrepreneurs in the first few years of the last decade but have experienced a sharp decline since early 2006. This decline casts doubt over the claim that the German company law reform from November 2008 ‘successfully fought off’ the use of foreign company forms.
    [Show full text]
  • Corporate Law, Governance, and Diversity (Cambridge University Press)
    Dear colleagues, Thank you for taking the time to read my work. Please find enclosed two chapters from my book Challenging Boardroom Homogeneity: Corporate Law, Governance, and Diversity (Cambridge University Press). Chapter 1 provides an overview of the project. Chapter 4 presents findings from my qualitative study of Norway’s quota-based approach to corporate board diversity (please see § 6–11 of the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, below). If you are unable to read the entire selection, I suggest focusing on chapter 4 (“Norway's Socio-Legal Journey: A Qualitative Study of Boardroom Diversity Quotas”) and reading pages 2-3, 6-12 of chapter 1 for context. I look forward to the discussion. Best wishes, AD +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ § 6–11 a Requirement regarding the representation of both sexes on the board of directors (1) On the board of directors of public limited liabilities companies, both sexes shall be represented in the following manner: 1. If the board of directors has two or three members, both sexes shall be represented. 2. If the board of directors has four or five members, each sex shall be represented by at least two. 3. If the board of directors has six to eight members, each sex shall be represented by at least three. 4. If the board of directors has nine members, each sex shall be represented by at least four, and if the board of directors has more members, each sex shall be represented by at least 40 percent CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: HOMOGENEOUS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE CULTURES I feel in a couple of situations that were very, very critical, then I saw [the] difference between how men and women behave.
    [Show full text]
  • Regional Restructuring and the Societas Europaea
    A THIRD WAY: REGIONAL RESTRUCTURING AND THE SOCIETAS EUROPAEA Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge Working Paper No. 385 by Jodie A. Kirshner University of Cambridge Centre for Business Research Judge Business School Building Trumpington Street Cambridge CB2 1AG Email: [email protected] June 2009 This working paper forms part of the CBR Research Programme on Corporate Governance. Abstract The Societas Europaea (SE) harmonized minimal amounts of company law and assigned employee representation to a supplementary negotiation process. Commentators predicted that it would introduce cross-border regulatory competition within the EU. Others suggested that companies would choose the SE over other national corporate structures, in order to mitigate the requirements of mandatory codetermination. This paper reports case-study evidence to argue that companies are utilizing the SE in a third, more significant way: to facilitate within-group restructurings that enable them to submit to a simplified, integrated regulation at the level of the parent company. This generates pressure for the unification of additional areas of law and more national-level regulation. Empowering the SE therefore represents a first step towards streamlining the regulation of European companies. JEL Classification: F15, F23, G18, H73. Keywords: economic integration, regionalization/federalism, regulatory competition, migration, regulatory institutions, interjurisdictional arbitrage, multinational firms, corporate restructuring, codetermination, labor organization. Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank Simon Deakin, Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge; the ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge; Denis Galligan, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford; the UK Fulbright Commission; the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany; Paul Davies, Allen & Overy Professor of Corporate Law, University of Oxford; Katharina Pistor, Michael I.
    [Show full text]
  • Konsernstyring I Aksjeselskapsretten
    Konsernstyring i aksjeselskapsretten Funksjonsfordelingen og ansvarsreguleringen Kandidatnummer: 212 Leveringsfrist: 15. januar 2013 Antall ord: 38 385 I INNHOLDSFORTEGNELSE 1 INNLEDNING.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Tema .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Rettskilder .................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Aksjelovene............................................................................................................ 4 1.2.2 Forarbeider ............................................................................................................. 5 1.2.3 Etterarbeider ........................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Rettspraksis ............................................................................................................ 6 1.2.5 Utenlandsk rett ....................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Aksjelovenes fravikelighet........................................................................................... 6 1.4 Interesser ...................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Konsernbegrepet .........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Articles the Development of German Corporate Law Until 1990
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by SOAS Research Online Articles The Development of German Corporate Law Until 1990: An Historical Reappraisal ∗ By Peter Muchlinski A. Introduction The development of modern corporate law can be located in four “origin” legal systems: France, England, Germany and the United States (specifically in leading State Jurisdictions such as New York, New Jersey and Delaware). These systems are often segregated between an Anglo-American “outsider” system of corporate law and governance and the 1 Continental “insider” system. This has its political economy parallel in the “Varieties of Capitalism” literature, which separates the major capitalist economies into “Liberal Market Economies”, such as the UK and the USA, and “Co-ordinated Market Economies”, such as 2 Germany. These distinctions concentrate, in particular, on whether the system of corporate finance is based on open stock markets and widely dispersed “outsider” shareholding, as in the Anglo-American model, or on finance carried out by “insider” ∗* Peter Muchlinski is a Professor at The School of Law, SOAS, University of London. Email: [email protected]. This paper is part of a wider project on the globalization of corporate law undertaken by the author in conjunction with his colleagues at SOAS – Nick Foster, Sanzhu Zhu and Scott Newton – as represented by our joint LLM/MA course International and Comparative Corporate Law. I would like to acknowledge the support of Professor Gralf- Peter Calliess, the Centre for Transnational Studies and the Faculty of Law at the University of Bremen, where I was a Visiting Professor in February-March 2012, in allowing me to use their resources while undertaking the research for this paper.
    [Show full text]
  • How to Regulate Cooperatives in the EU?
    This article from The Dovenschmidt Quarterly is published by Eleven international publishing and made available to anonieme bezoeker How to Regulate Cooperatives in the EU? A Theory of Path Dependency Ger J.H. van der Sangen* nies.2 On a smaller scale, cooperatives were used for housing in condominium, for retail shops and for work- ers’ participation.3 1 Introduction The case for the cooperative as a viable business form regained momentum in the EU policy debate with the EU Action Plan 20034 and the introduction of the SCE The cooperative as an economic concept and legal busi- Statute in 2003,5 the outbreak of the financial and eco- ness form goes back to the midst of the nineteenth cen- nomic crisis in 2008 – arguing that cooperatives showed tury. It is widely acknowledged that the 1844 establish- a different attitude towards risks than their investor- ed ‘Rochdale Equitable Pioneers’ was the first consumer owned counterparts in banking and provided a more cooperative, promoted by philanthropist Robert Owen. sustainable business model6 – and with the endorsement Since the founding of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers, of the cooperative business concept by the United the concept of the cooperative showed endemic develop- Nations and the International Labour Organization in ments in Germany, where banking cooperatives based 2012. The cooperative was considered to also play an on the ideas of Raiffeisen and Schulze-Delitzsch as well important? role in the so-called ‘social economy’ of the as agricultural cooperatives emerged – followed later EU.7 Directed from a different angle, the cooperative with a similar pattern in the Netherlands, while earlier was also considered to have a positive effect on over- in France socialist rooted worker cooperatives as well as coming market failures in the food process chain in agricultural cooperatives developed.
    [Show full text]