Det har under en tid diskuterats huruvida den princip som i amerikansk rätt kallas the business judgment rule även förekommer i svensk rätt. Frågan har varit föremål för diskussion i flertalet artiklar och det är därför relevant att utreda huruvida principen förekommer i svensk rätt samt om en sådan princip kan anses vara förenlig med det skadeståndsansvar som styrelseledamöter har enligt 29 kap. 1 § ABL. Denna framställning syftar därför till att ge ett svar på om en princip likt the business judgment rule som förkommer i amerikansk rätt även förekommer i det svenska rättssystemet och om en sådan princip kan anses vara förenlig med 29 kap. 1 § ABL. För att utreda rättsläget har två metoder använts, den rättsdogmatiska metoden och den komparativa metoden, och den juridiska argumentationen i framställningen bygger på lagstiftning, förarbeten, rättspraxis och doktrin. The business judgment rule förekommer i den amerikanska aktiebolagsrätten och principen är en presumtion om att bolagsledningen vid beslutsfattande agerat utifrån en väl informerade grund, i god tro samt i övertygelsen om att beslutet fattats för aktiebolagets bästa. Principen har kommit att ta sin form genom the Supreme Courts i USA och inte direkt genom skriven lag vilket beror på att USA är ett s.k. common law land där rättstillämparen även är skaparen av rättsreglerna. För att principen ska vara tillämplig krävs att fyra rekvisit uppfylls, dessa är att det ska röra sig om ett beslut som fattats av en styrelseledamot och the triads of fiduciary duties. I svensk rätt regleras styrelseledamöters skadeståndsansvar i 29 kap. 1 § ABL och av paragrafen framkommer att en styrelseledamot som inom sitt uppdrag bringar skada till aktiebolaget, aktieägare eller tredje man genom uppsåt eller av oaktsamhet ska ersätta denna skada. Inom ramen för styrelseledamöters skadeståndsansvar enligt 29 kap. 1 § ABL finns såväl ett externt som ett internt skadeståndsansvar. För att en styrelseledamot ska kunna ställas ansvarig för en skada krävs att styrelseledamoten agerat oaktsamt, eller genom uppsåt, samt att det föreligger adekvat kausalitet mellan handlandet och den uppkomna skadan. Efter en genomgång av lagstiftning, förarbeten, prejudikat och doktrin på såväl det amerikanska som det svenska området kan konstateras att the business judgment rule som presumtion inte förekommer i de svenska regleringarna på området, varken i den allmänna skadeståndsrätten eller i ABL. Vissa rekvisit som förekommer i the business judgment rule kan däremot anses förekomma i såväl 29 kap. 1 § ABL som i rättstillämparens bedömningar. Rekvisitet för duty of care kan liknas med den culpabedömning som sker vid utredningen av om en person varit oaktsam i sitt handlande. Högsta domstolen har även i några rättsfall framfört att om en person fattar ett beslut som varit väl motiverat och med en informerad basis bör inte beslutet ifrågasättas, vilket även detta kan liknas med rekvisitet för duty of care samt det tankesätt som finns gällande the business judgment rule. Det kan även konstateras att om en princip likt the business judgment rule skulle komma att bli allmänt vedertagen i svensk rätt torde detta inte stå i strid med 29 kap. 1 § ABL.

In cases concerning a hostile takeover occurring in the United States, the board of directors must fulfill the duties set forward by the Unocal test. If the board of directors succeed, it implies that the decision, regardless if it is a bad decision, is protected by the Business Judgment Rule. The Business Judgment Rule presumes that the board of directors in good faith made an informed decision in the line of the corporations’ interests. The Business Judgment Rule is inherently unique for American companies. In Sweden liability for directors is based on a culpa evaluation which in turn is based on principles deriving from tort law. This is the result from the corporate law only providing for a very limited part concerning liability. In this thesis, the different judicial systems are explained with focus on differences and similarities based on duties of the board. Moreover, the different liabilities from a Swedish and an American perspective will be discussed. Concluding, it is hard to distinguish a Swedish version of the Business Judgment Rule, however, the creation of one would most likely be beneficial since it, to a large extent, provides for a better business world. / Vid ett fientligt företagsförvärv i USA måste styrelseledamöterna visa att de uppfyller de krav som framställts genom Unocal-testet. Lyckas styreledamöterna uppfylla kraven så blir de skyddade från skadeståndsrättsligt ansvar i enlighet med the Business Judgment Rule, oavsett om beslutet ledde till en dålig affär. The Business Judgment Rule presumerar att styrelseledamöterna i god tro fattat ett välgrundat affärsbeslut som ligger i bolagets intresse. The Business Judgment Rule är unikt för amerikanska bolag. I Sverige utgår skadeståndsansvar för styrelseledamöter från en culpabedömning, vilket baseras på allmänna skadeståndsrättsliga principer då den aktiebolagsrättsliga skadeståndsdelen är begränsad. I denna uppsats redogörs de olika rättssystemen med fokus på likheter och skillnader i styrelseuppdraget. Vidare diskuteras styrelseledamöternas skadeståndsansvar utifrån ett amerikanskt och ett svenskt perspektiv. Slutligen visas det att det är svårt att se en svensk version till the Business Judgment Rule, men att en sådan troligen skulle vara att föredra då regeln ger effekter som bidrar till en bättre affärsvärld.

Magister Legum - LLM

Every corporate director is under the obligation to perform his duties with reasonable care and loyalty. In connection with re-codification of the Czech private law, the Business Corporations Act brought a new institute to the Czech legal system - the business judgment rule. This rule provides corporate directors with a special protection against the liability for the breach of their duties. The aim of this thesis is to focus on this institute, to analyse the Czech version of business judgment rule, to compare it with its foreign models and provide the most likely judicial interpretation of it. The thesis consists of three main chapters. Chapter One deals with the issue of directors duties of care and loyalty and describes the grounds for existence of business judgment rule with a broaded context of law and economics knowledge. It explains the role of capital companies in business in order to define leading requirements for company regulation. Author focuses on the necessity of taking a risk in process of making entrepreneurial decisions. Chapter Two provides a description of two foreign models of business judgment rule. First, it deals with the business judgment rule originated from the practise of the courts in USA and two possible interpretations given by them - a standard of review and an...

The purpose of this thesis is to compare the standard of due care in contemporary legislation as well as in the new upcoming legislation which should become effective as of 1 January 2014. Furthermore, the thesis is focused on consequences of breach of the standard of due care by persons in position of members of elected bodies of capital business companies and / or business corporations. The thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter One is introductory and deals with history of the standard of due care in the Czech legislation from the period of the General Civil Code to the recodification of civil law and commercial law represented by two crucial statutes - the new Civil Code and the Business Corporations Act. Chapter Two deals with contemporary valid and effective legislation concerned with the standard of due care and its main components. In Chapter Three I tried to emphasize the changes which we will experience in the new legislation. Especially, I mean the newly introduced business judgment rule which was inspired and implemented to the Czech legislation on the basis of modern foreign legislations - US and Germany. Chapter Four presents selection of case law of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic which repeatedly commented on the standard of due care in practice and its related aspects...

This paper deals with principal issues of the civil liability of the corporates governance bodies. The question of ,,corporate governance” are not enough analyzed in the law doctrine of Lithuania. The term ,,corporate governance” related with the corporate governance systems, governance bodies, shareholders and other stakeholders. This definition depend on every country legal framework, rules, procedures and traditions. The status problems of corporate governance bodies are shortly discussed in this study. There are made conclusion, that they are liable under Civil law rules. This means that director is subject of full liability principle, which require that he/she would have to cover all damages, which are result of his/her illegal action. The member of corporate governance body becomes civilly liable when four conditions are present: damage, illegal action, causality and fault. The general obligations of the corporate governance bodies provided in the Lithuanian Civil Code, Corporation Act, the local acts of corporation and they rise from specifical (fiduciary) theirs position. Fiduciary duty means an obligation to act in the best interest of another party. The corporate governance bodies duties falled into three broad categories: the duty of care, duty of loyalty and duty to act in good faith. This work discuss about the limitation of the directors civil liability, the directors liability insurance. / -.

The thesis contributes to the ongoing discussion pertaining the concept of due managerial care and the business judgment rule in Czech law and aims to explore the aforementioned in the context of acquisition transactions, in the context of purchase of a business share or an enterprise (or a part of an enterprise) as the issue of acquisition transactions, despite its substantial practical impact, remain largely out of scientific focus. Specifically, the thesis explores the possibility of articulation of the standard of due managerial care for the purpose of acquisition transaction and, if such articulation is possible, its specific features. In its exploration, the thesis focuses on articulation of the above standard in the context of availability of information regarding the target company or enterprise, which commonly takes form of a due diligence. The author aims to define the above standard upon comparison of Czech concept of due managerial care and business judgment rule with its German counterparts. Thus, the thesis also addresses the issue to what extent it is permissible to transfer and subsequently use the findings from the German standard of due managerial care in the context of Czech law. Following the initial comparison of the regulation of due managerial care and business judgment rule...

The Swedish corporate law scholars have long debated whether there is something similar to the American business judgment rule (BJR) in the Swedish Companies Act (SCA). Recently, the discourse shifted to claim that the BJR exists in Swedish case law and should be introduced in the SCA in the form of a statute. However, the Swedish corporate law scholars have not investigated in much detail whether the BJR should be introduced in the SCA. An eagerness to introduce the BJR might seem bewildering due to the corporate scandals at the beginning of this century and the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. These events left corporate law scholars and those in the business community with the pressing question of whether the board of directors is sufficiently accountable, and the BJR appears to do the very opposite. In view of the foregoing, this thesis examines whether the BJR should be introduced in the SCA. This examination enables a comparative analysis of the liability rules of the board of directors in Sweden and Delaware, which is the dominant source of state corporate law in the United States. This thesis also steps outside traditional legal sources and considers other disciplines such as moral and political philosophy, sociology, and the methodology of law and economics.   This thesis finds that the BJR does not balance the values of the authority of the board of directors and the need to hold it accountable for its decisions and actions in an appropriate manner because it allows the value of authority to completely dominate. An appropriate balance between these values of authority and accountability requires that none of the values be so preeminent that any of them completely dominate. The BJR is made more critical because the Delaware courts apply it generously in favor of the board of directors and adopt an inveterate attitude in cases raising duty of care, thus, weakening the duty of care as a viable and meaningful accountability mechanism. Given these findings, this thesis concludes that the Swedish legislator should only consider introducing the BJR in the SCA if it is articulated in a different way. Alternatively, if it is given a dual function to protect both the authority of the board of directors and the need to hold it accountable for its decisions and actions. The justifications behind the BJR do not change the conclusion because they do not fully defend the existence of the BJR and the dominance of the value of authority. This thesis also considers the benefits of introducing the BJR in the SCA, but they also do not change the overall conclusion.  Instead, the conclusion is strengthened by the fact that a no liability rule can emerge when the BJR is combined with other protective devices in the SCA in the same way as it does in Delaware if the BJR is not modified or given a dual function. The no liability rule appears to deter the threat of legal liability as an effective accountability mechanism, which cannot be defended by either social norms or market forces.

The South African mining industry is viewed as the locomotive of the economic development in South Africa and has been a leading contributor to the economy for more than a century. However, the price paid for economic growth has left South Africa with a "mining legacy" and mining companies now face an upsurge of politically and regulatory induced challenges. Directors of mining companies have to act with a certain level of duty of care, skill and diligence in order for them to navigate through these various challenges. The heightened awareness of environmental degradation caused by mining has seen a rise in stricter mining liability legislation in South Africa, with a specific focus on company and director liability. The result is that directors are now faced with the possibility of personal liability when performing their executive function. According to the business judgment rule, directors will be shielded from liability if they acted with the necessary duty of care. The objective of this dissertation is to examine to what extent the business judgment rule will offer protection to a director of a mining company where the director caused environmental damage. The analysis of this study will be conducted in the context of the environmental damage caused by a mining company due to the decision making and 'governance' of the mining company's director or directors. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Public Law / LLM / Unrestricted

The duty to act with the diligence of a professional manager and consequences of the violation of this duty This thesis deals with the duty to act with the diligence of a professional manager and the consequences of doing so. The author of the thesis tries to define in detail the duty to act with the diligence of a professional manager as a standard form of conduct and its individual definition components and also the consequences that occur in case of breach of this duty. The thesis defines the theoretical basis and tries to critically evaluate problematic issues related to this standard of conduct and to bring their own opinion on the matter.The thesis is divided into six parts. The first part deals with the master-agent issues and the related costs of representation. Shortly, attention is paid to the fiduciary duty and the reasons for its anchoring in general. The second chapter deals with the development of the duty to act with the diligence of a professional manager from the time of the General Austrian Civil Code of Law to legislation in the Civil Code in force and the Business Corporations Act. The third chapter defines individual elements of the care of a professional manager, namely the duty of loyalty, due care and necessary knowledge, with a partial overlap into foreign legal systems....