The Single-Member Limited Liability Company (SUP)

Transcription

1 The Single-Member Limited Liability Company (SUP) A Necessary Reform of EU Law on Business Organizations? Bearbeitet von Prof. Dr. Peter Kindler 1. Auflage Buch. XVIII, 137 S. Kartoniert ISBN Format (B x L): 16,0 x 24,0 cm Recht > Handelsrecht, Wirtschaftsrecht > Gesellschaftsrecht > Europäisches, Internationales Gesellschaftsrecht Zu Leseprobe und Sachverzeichnis schnell und portofrei erhältlich bei Die Online-Fachbuchhandlung beck-shop.de ist spezialisiert auf Fachbücher, insbesondere Recht, Steuern und Wirtschaft. Im Sortiment finden Sie alle Medien (Bücher, Zeitschriften, CDs, ebooks, etc.) aller Verlage. Ergänzt wird das Programm durch Services wie Neuerscheinungsdienst oder Zusammenstellungen von Büchern zu Sonderpreisen. Der Shop führt mehr als 8 Millionen Produkte.

2 Kindler The Single-Member Limited Liability Company (SUP)

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4 The Single-Member Limited Liability Company (SUP) A Necessary Reform of EU Law on Business Organizations? by Peter Kindler Professor of Law at the University of Munich 2016 C. H. BECK Hart Nomos

5 Published by Verlag C. H. Beck ohg, Wilhelmstraße 9, München, Germany, Co-published by Hart Publishing, 16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OXI 2JW, United Kingdom, online at: and Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbh & Co. KG Waldseestraße 3 5, Baden-Baden, Germany, nomos@nomos.de Published in North America (US and Canada) by Hart Publishing, c/o International Specialized Book Services, 930 NE 58 th Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR , USA, orders@isbs.com ISBN (C. H. BECK) ISBN (Hart Publishing) ISBN (Nomos) 2016 Verlag C. H. Beck ohg Wilhelmstr. 9, München Printed in Germany by Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbh & Co KG In den Lissen 12, D Sinzheim Typeset by Reemers Publishing Services GmbH, Krefeld Umschlaggestaltung: Druckerei C. H. Beck Nördlingen All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of Verlag C. H. Beck, or as expressly permitted by law under the terms agreed with the appropriate reprographic rights organisation. Enquiries concerning reproduction which may not be covered by the above should be addressed to C. H. Beck at the address above.

6 Preface European legal policy in the area of the law relating to groups of companies is in flux once again. Prompted by the Reflection Group on the Future of EU Company Law, the EU Commission on 9 April 2014 proposed rules for a single-member limited liability company meant to be used both as a flexible tool for corporate groups and also as a vehicle for new entrepreneurs who are low on capital. On 28 May 2015, the Council agreed on a General Approach for a Proposal of a Directive in this field. The Council s General Approach is based on a compromise text tabled by the presidency. Core elements of the proposal are the electronic registration of the SUP, the inexistence of legal minimum capital requirements and the use of the company registration as connecting factor under conflict-of-laws rules. The Commission s initial proposal was received largely with scepticism, prompting the Italian EU Presidency to put forward a compromise proposal on 14 November 2014 on which the Council s General Approach is largely based. The agreement is based on a compromise text tabled by the Latvian presidency on 21 May The Council s General Approach will serve as the basis for forthcoming negotiations with the European Parliament. In its key provisions, the compromise text: aims at providing for a whole set of guarantees related to online registration (including the role of intermediaries at that stage), seeks to improve anti-money laundering rules, leaves the question of seat of companies to national laws, and allows Member States to control distributions and to oblige companies to build up legal reserves. The European Parliament s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) is due to vote its report in the near future. This study contains an evaluation of the planned single-member company on the basis of the General Approach of 28 May 2015, with the main focus on aspects of group law. It is based on the author s article published in Zeitschrift für das gesamte Handels- und Wirtschaftsrecht (ZHR) 179 (2015), Munich, November 2015 Peter Kindler V

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8 Table of Contents Preface... Selected Abbreviations... Bibliography... V IX XIII I. Introduction Lines of development of European group law up to Main features and effect of the planned SUP directive The legal-policy environment... 4 a) International insolvency law... 4 b) Fight on money laundering... 5 c) EU directives on company law... 6 II. Remote formation via mouse click Proof of identity during online registration... 9 a) Purpose and dangers of the online registration... 9 b) Limiting the risks of abuse via safe electronic identification means within the meaning of the e-idas regulation? c) The electronic identification means in the scheme put forth in the SUP proposal d) Legal scrutiny before registration e) Analysis Mandatory use of the standard template of the instrument(s) of constitution III. Membership IV. Share capital: raising capital and capital protection The basics Preventive creditor protection a) No obligation to publicly disclose subscribed and paid-up share capital in business letters b) Solvency test c) The concept of distribution d) The cash-pooling legal void e) Further instruments for preventive creditor protection Retrospective creditor protection: the liability of directors and of the shareholder in case of illegal distributions V. Structure of the SUP Group law as a means of legal protection for third parties and minority shareholders Permissibility of disadvantageous instructions? a) Harmonisation gap b) Permissibility of disadvantageous instructions in the non-harmonised LLC law of the member states c) Conclusions regarding the regulation of the right to issue instructions in the directive.. 35 d) The separation of the registered office from the central administration: a practical escape route? Shareholder liability and directors liability VI. Separation of the registered office from the central administration The splitting of the seat (Sitzaufspaltung) as an indication of a lack of probity A first desideratum: parallelism with insolvency law A second desideratum: parallelism with the law applicable to corporate co-determination a) Avoidance strategy no. 1: a foreign SUP as holding company b) Avoidance strategy no. 2: a foreign SUP as the general partner of a SUP & Co. KG c) Avoidance strategy no. 3: a foreign SUP as a group subsidiary d) The conflict-of-laws answer: a special rule for linking mandatory domestic regulations on corporate co-determination to the domestic real seat VII

9 Table of Contents 4. Conclusions for the drafting of the conflict-of-laws rule in a SUP directive A digression: criminal law in the letterbox SUP VII. On the choice of the legal basis for the SUP directive VIII. General evaluation and conclusions Appendix I Appendix II Appendix III EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Brussels, 9 April 2014, COM(2014) 212 final, Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on single-member private limited liability companies General Secretariat of the Council, Brussels, 21 May 2015, 8811/15, Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on single-member private limited liability companies General approach Competitiveness Council, 28 May 2015, Agreed amendments to the Presidency compromise text (Draft directive on single-member private limited liability companies) Index VIII