Fiduciary Duty is the legal obligation that economic agents must act in the best interests of their beneficiaries, however the legal definition is vague. There are two general categories of ways of interpreting Fiduciary Duty. The dominant, so-called narrow interpretation binds an economic fiduciary to act in the best financial interests of their beneficiaries. There are also broader interpretations which attempt to account for the welfare and/or ethical priorities of the beneficiaries. The narrow interpretation favors the sole prioritization of profit motivation while the broad interpretations favor environmental and social considerations above profit. The historical legal favor enjoyed by the narrow view seems to, at least in part, allow and even encourage the unsustainable exploitation of natural and social resources. On the other hand, favoring broad interpretations seems to undermine the pecuniary interest inherent in the act of investment. In this paper, I will formulate an alternative account of fiduciary duty by analyzing the underlying ethical desiderata put forward by both categories of interpretations and suggesting a synthesis of the views considered. Using John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle, I outline where sufficient conditions are met in investment decisions to make profit motivation a secondary consideration. While the primary ethical framework I will adopt is most influenced by Rawls' contractarianism, I will support my view by showing that my account of fiduciary duty is favorable on several ethical perspectives over existing broad and narrow interpretations, namely deontological, utilitarian, and consequentialist points of view. My conclusion suggests a few possible actions for the goals of future legislation surrounding the economic agent's relationship to their beneficiaries. One, that environmental and social considerations by economic agents are both prudent and loyal to their beneficiaries, meeting the criteria outlined in fiduciary duty. Therefore, taking such considerations in business decisions should not be punishable as it currently is in many jurisdictions. Second, regulations should be proposed that either: A. Restricts investments enabling economic agents that are prone to environmental and social abuses, or B. Makes the beneficiary explicitly aware of the agent’s questionable business practices before they make the decision to invest. My proposed revision of fiduciary duty therefore aims to provide a philosophical framework for current market regulators to respond to environmental and social challenges facing our planet that are posed by economic agents.

The thesis focuses on the concept of the duty of due managerial care as regulated in the legal framework of the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany; in particular, the comparison is aimed at the application of this duty against the members of the board of directors and the supervisory board of the joint-stock company and the executives of the limited liability company. The thesis first describes the duty of due managerial care as a standard of conduct. Chapter 3 describes the particular consequences of said duty for the conduct of the members of the board of directors and the supervisory board of the joint-stock company. Chapter 4 is focused on the reflection of this duty on the legal relationships within the limited liability company. Chapters 3 and 4 each include a partial conclusion concerning the most important differences as well as the effectiveness of the respective legal regulation. Chapter 5 is divided into two parts, differentiated according to the legal form of the company in question, and concerns itself with the liabilities following from the breach of said duty. Particular attention is paid to the possibilities of shareholders (members) to influence - whether ex ante or ex post - the said liabilities, as this area is marked by the most significant differences when...

As China has become one of the largest economic entities in the world, many studies focus on corporate governance in China. In 2001, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) transplanted the outside director mechanism from the United States and the United Kingdom. CSRC hoped that outside directors could play a control role to monitor the behaviours of controlling shareholders, protecting the interests of minority shareholders. However, since it was established, the Chinese outside director mechanism has played an unsatisfactory control role because they are not truly independent of the controlling shareholders. In contrast, many Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections (a particular kind of social connections in China) to play a resource acquisition role very well. Based on the theories of the firm, the resource dependence theory, studies of Guanxi and the path dependence theory, this thesis finds that when Chinese outside directors use their Guanxi connections to play their resource acquisition role, their independence and fiduciary duties required by CSRC is compromised.

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. / -.

Trust law has hindered beneficiaries from exerting their voice in the administration of their funds. Yet, individuals do have opinions on how they want their funds to be invested and wish to direct the investments to align with their values. For a majority of individuals, this influence is mainly through their retirement fund investments. However, trust law means that the ultimate power to decide on the investment process rests in the hands of trustees to act on behalf of all beneficiaries. And trustees also further delegate most investment decisions to the investment managers. The findings of this research, as other researchers have also found, suggests that individuals who have some knowledge of SRI show a greater willingness to invest in sustainable funds. It also suggests that after choosing the type of funds that they wish to invest in, individuals place a lot of trust in their trustees to act in their best interests by investing responsibly. The research explores the various dynamics that are at play that explain individual behaviour and attitudes towards financial planning with regards to their retirement investments. The implications of my findings may have relevance in understanding what drives individuals to become active in the investment arena and may serve as a harbinger to changes in fiduciary relationships as we know them. Further research can be done in this area that will assist policy makers to consider regulation changes that could lead to the greater inclusion of final beneficiaries in the investment management process.

There are three types of agreements regarding lawyers’ fee: fixed fee, hourly fee and the contingent fee. Contingent fee agreements have distinguishing features from other types of fee – lawyer is compensated or his remuneration is paid only if the case is won, and the client doesn’t have to pay a fee beforehand. Agreements are most popular in United States. Europe doesn’t use them uniformly, some countries allow agreements, some – prohibit. Lithuania a few years ago adopted rule allowing contingent fee agreements but still there are no further legislation or clarification. Mainly contingent fee agreements are used when there is no risk of non-recovery. The main advantage making agreements desirable that client doesn’t have to pay till the case is closed. This model allows people who cannot afford hourly or fixed fee get access to justice. On the other hand lawyer on a contingency fee agreement has more motivation to do everything what is needed to obtain judgment. Contingent fee agreements can be divided in several types: hourly contingency fee, when the lawyer is paid for total hours spent on the case only if the case was successful; then, when the lawyer is paid an hourly rate and bonus premium, based upon litigation; and mostly known type is based upon percentage of the plaintiff’s recovery. The main aim of this research is to validate or disclaim the hypothesis that contingent fee agreements violate ethical principles governing lawyers’ practice. First part of this... [to full text] / Pacta de quota litis terminas daugiausiai naudojamas Europoje; minimas Europos Sąjungos advokatų profesinės etikos kodekse. Kitos šalys naudoja skirtingus terminus, populiariausias contingent fee, naudojamas Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose, taip pat conditional fee Didžiojoje Britanijoje. Contingent fee terminas Lietuvoje naudojamas kaip sąlyginis atlyginimas, dėl kurio advokatas ir klientas susitaria iš anksto. Tai viena iš susitarimo tarp advokato ir kliento rūšių, kuri apibrėžia ne tik kliento atstovavimo sąlygas, bet kartu ir numato advokato atlyginimą, kuris tiesiogiai priklauso nuo bylos baigties. Taip pat yra žinomi valandinio užmokesčio ar fiksuoto užmokesčio susitarimai. Sąlyginio atlyginimo susitarimai gali nustatyti atlyginimo dydį valandine išraiška, kai sąlyginis atlyginimas skaičiuojamas nuo išdirbtų valandų; taip pat gali būti mokamas valandinis sąlyginis atlyginimas su premija ir populiariausias, kai sąlyginis atlyginimas nustatomas procentine išraiška ir skaičiuojamas nuo priteistos sumos. Sąlyginio atlyginimo susitarimai labiausiai paplitę Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose, tuo tarpu Europoje jie naudojami labai retai, daugelyje šalių jie draudžiami. Šių susitarimų išskirtinumas yra tas, kad klientui nereikia mokėti už advokato paslaugas iš anksto. Su advokatu atsiskaitoma tik jei byla laimima. Tai lemia šių susitarimų populiarumą ne tik Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose, bet ir kitose šalyse, nes sudaro galimybe nepasiturintiems asmenims apginti savo teises ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Diploma thesis - abstract Due managerial care and diligence as a criterion for the determination of liability (a legal and comparative analysis) Lucie Krtoušová The purpose of this thesis is to critically analyse the interpretation of the concept of the due managerial care and diligence and consider the requirements that a director must comply with. The method used in this paper is the comparative analysis. As a basis of the comparative analysis it is chosen the British concept of fiduciary duties and duty of care, skill and diligence which is compared with the Czech concept of the care of a prudent manager. The thesis is composed of five chapters, each of them dealing with different aspects of the concept of the due managerial care and diligence. Chapter One is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the thesis such as the director, the care of a prudent manager, the duty of loyalty, fiduciary duties and the duty of care, skill and diligence. Chapter Two examines the British concept of fiduciary duties. The chapter consists of five parts. Part One focuses on introduction into the system of general duties of directors. Part Two explains the fiduciary position of a director. Part Three and Four address the two aspects of the duty of loyalty, i.e. the duty to act in the interest of the company and...

This paper deals with a comparison between the Czech duty of due managerial care of a member of governing body of limited company and the Irish non-fiduciary duty to exercise care, skill and diligence of a director of limited company (hereinafter also referred as "duty of care"). The paper aims to find out a possible way to improve legislation of the duty of due managerial care on the basis of comparison with the duty of care. The duty of care sets the ground for the comparison, therefore the paper deals first with the Irish legal status of the duty of care, which has been recently changed by the Companies Act 2014. Despite of the codification of the directors' duties, the core of interpretation and application of the duty of care still rests in judicial decisions. Nevertheless, the change of source and statutory wording of the duty means that the substance of Re City Equitable [1925] does not represent a good law anymore. The standard of care of Re City Equitable [1925] has been replaced by the minimal objective standard based on the British judgment Re D'Jan of London [1994]. The content of the duty of care is determined on the case by case basis, but in any event it consists of conclusions of the British judgment Re Barings [1999], which has been accepted by the Irish courts in restriction...

台新金控購併彰化銀行可以說是台灣金融業擬以融資購併方式進行合併的第一案，本研究希望透過分析此個案，了解台新金控購併的目的、資金來源與後續合併換股可能衍生之議題，為未來公股釋出，以及金融整併提供可行之方法。 本文就融資購併理論架構說明起，以當前台灣金融政策與購併環境現況分析，這包括實際已發生的金融購併案件及金融購併法規探討，它突顯出台灣在金融合併處理上是保守的。 / / The M&A of Taishin Holdings Cooperation (THC) and Chang Hwa Bank (CHB) could be regarded as the first M&A (Merge and Acquisition) by LBO ( Leverage Buy-out) in Taiwan. This study, by analyzing this case, discusses the purpose, the funding source of THC and the issues after shares-exchange, which indicates the feasible methods for the release of the state holdings and the combination of the financial institutes in the future. The beginning of this study discusses the theory and the structure of LBO to analyze the financial policy and M&A environment in Taiwan at present, including practical M&A cases and legal problems etc., which reveals not very aggressive. /

判斷目標公司董事出售公司或控制權的決策是否符合受任人義務是一個困難且重要的問題，因為此種類型的決策董事有可能是出於自身利益也可能是為全體股東利益而為，在此種利益衝突屬於晦暗不明的情況，法院應該要採取怎樣的審查態度一方面可以尊重董事決策的空間，另一方面又可以確保股東的利益被保全，成為本論文最關心的問題。 以我國為例，近年公股銀行民營化或是私募基金收購案例屢見不鮮，共同引發的擔憂就是目標公司董事同意此項併購案到底是因為併購條件有利於全體股東，還是嘉惠特定合作對象而決定？我國企業併購法第5條及第6條要求目標公司董事為併購決議時應盡其注意義務及忠實義務，然董事到底是為「公司」還是「股東」盡其義務似乎仍有疑義；再者，法院似乎亦尚未發展出在個案中判斷董事具體行為是否符合受任人義務的標準，因此本文擬參考美國法上的相關規範，以期解決我國現狀的困境。 德拉瓦州法院在1980年代提出一項標準，當目標公司董事決定要出售公司或控制權時，董事有義務要為股東爭取最好的價格，又稱為「露華濃義務(Revlon Duty)」或「標售公司義務」，有兩個重點值得關注：第一，目標公司董事同意何種併購交易會觸發露華濃義務？此即露華濃適用範圍的討論；第二，目標公司董事一旦觸發露華濃義務，董事應該要採取何種具體措施以符合要求？此即露華濃義務內涵的討論。對應到我國現況，應不應該在特定的併購交易中限縮董事的裁量空間？或提出可供法院參考之指標？