Rivista del Diritto Commerciale e del diritto generale delle Obbligazioni

Abstract: On the evolution of limited liability companies – After providing some historical background on the origins of limited liability companies, the paper emphasizes their “artificial” and “experimental” nature. In this context, it recalls the prospects of the 2004 reform and reports on the outcome of the subsequent legislation, which also allowed this type of company access to public savings. This leads to some systematic and methodological considerations, especially regarding the problems arising from the adoption of a type of company for circumstances that do not correspond to those considered by the legislator when laying down the rules.  

Summary: 1. Premessa. – 2. Il carattere “artificiale” e “sperimentale” della s.r.l. – 3. S.r.l., modelli organizzativi di impresa e concorrenza tra ordinamenti. – 4. La prospettiva della riforma del 2004. – 5. Gli interventi successivi del legislatore. – 6. L’esito del possibile appello al pubblico risparmio. – 7. Nome e tipo per le società di capitali. – 8. Implicazioni di sistema e di metodo. – 9. S.r.l. “aperta”, responsabilità degli amministratori e art. 2476 cod. civ.

Keywords: Company — History — Types and names of companies — Contractual freedom — Regulatory gaps and integration.

Abstract: On merged company indipendent bankruptcy – The essay critically analyses the consolidated favorable position of the Italian Supreme Court on a merged company’s independent bankruptcy procedure, focusing on the contradiction of this solution both: to the legal creditor protection and to the irreversibility of merger effects by one side; and to the new rules of Codice della crisi e dell’insolvenza on extraordinary operations and on the relation within insolvency proceedings and the termination of the debtor’s business, on the other side.  

Summary: 1. Un consolidato (ma discutibile) indirizzo giurisprudenziale. – 2. Premessa metodologica: peculiarità dell’“estinzione” dell’incorporata e sostanziale neutralità dell’inquadramento teorico della fusione per la soluzione del problema. – 3. Inconciliabilità del fallimento (oggi: liquidazione giudiziale) dell’incorporata con il principio di continuità nelle operazioni straordinarie (art. 2504-bis c.c.). – 4. Il rilievo sistematico della soppressione del divieto di partecipazione ad operazioni straordinarie di società soggette a procedure concorsuali e del loro proficuo utilizzo per la soluzione della crisi e dell’insolvenza (artt. 240, 2° comma, lett. c e 85, 3° comma, lett. a CCII). – 5. Il ruolo dell’opposizione dei creditori (art. 2503). – 6. (Segue) … ed il rilievo della disciplina civilistica dell’invalidità delle operazioni straordinarie (art. 2504-quater). – 7. I nuovi spunti offerti dall’irreversibilità degli effetti delle operazioni straordinarie concorsuali (art. 116, 5° comma, CCII). – 8. (Segue) …e dal nuovo testo dell’art. 33 CCII.  

Keywords: Insolvency — Merger — Merged company — Indipendent bankruptcy procedure.

Abstract: Shareholders’ meetings of listed companies: from the pandemic emergency to the reform of the Financial Market Act – This article traces the cross-time evolution of the rules governing shareholder meetings at Italian listed companies, from the Covid-19 emergency framework to the proposed amendments to the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF), which implement a reform aimed at boosting the openness of capital markets. The baseline thesis is that such evolution entails a commendable shift from ritualistic formalism to functional optimization, yielding a more efficient way of holding meetings without sacrificing core governance rights. The author traces the consolidation of the ‘designated representative’ (RD) as a central proxy-voting hub and the rise of remote-only meetings, which have now been codified in the applicable law. Moreover, he analyses the proposed introduction of a threshold for participation in the floor discussion – i.e., up to 0.1% of share capital – as a reasonable barrier against increasingly common dilatory floor interventions, merely aimed at annoying the company and its officers. The envisaged new TUF, on the one hand, empowers the company’s articles of association or corporate governance bodies – that is, with a full-fledged exercise of autonomy – to decide whether the meeting debate should be circumscribed to shareholders with a material interest in corporate management; on the other, it preserves minorities’ rights to submit questions and proposals, as well as to vote (directly or via the RD), regardless of the stake held. Therefore, the ‘voice’ of shareholders would be steered toward pre-meeting engagement and binding voting instructions rather than open-microphone obstructionism. The paper discusses the most recent innovations while accounting for several changes that have occurred over a longer timespan: spanning from the 2003 structural reform of Italian corporate law to the EU Shareholder Rights Directives and the above-mentioned changes in domestic legislation. It does so by addressing relevant doctrinal opinions and, in drawing conclusions, by considering solutions adopted in foreign jurisdictions. The author argues that the proposed TUF provisions are fully consistent with principles of proportionality, transparency, and orderly markets, while likely improving overall participation, cost-effectiveness, and the quality of deliberation.  

Summary: 1. Introduzione: come sta cambiando l’assemblea delle società quotate – 2. I caratteri dell’assemblea, e del suo svolgimento, dopo le ultime modifiche. Il ruolo del «rappresentante designato» – 3. L’evoluzione dell’ordinamento verso un assetto più semplice ed efficiente – 4. Alcune letture dottrinali dell’assemblea che cambia – 5. Conclusioni: sui pregi della “nuova” assemblea e l’opportunità di riservare la discussione ai soci con un effettivo interesse gestionale.  

Keywords: Shareholder meetings — Shareholder rights — Designated representative — TUF — SRD — Remote-only meetings — Discussion threshold — Efficiency.

Abstract: Arbitration and interim stay of the effects of corporate resolutions – The essay analyzes art. 838-ter, paragraph 4th, of the Italian code of civil procedure, which grants to the arbitration tribunal the power to order interim measures, in order to stay the effects of the resolutions approved by the shareholders’ meeting. First is considered the scope of such powers, with respect to the type of arbitration agreement included in the by-laws; then are considered the various kinds of companies and resolutions of the different corporate bodies. Thereafter, the essay focuses on key procedural issues, in particular with respect to the relationships with article 818 of the Italian code of civil procedure, which grants to the arbitrators the power to issue any type of interim measure. Finally, are examined the interactions with state courts jurisdiction, both in case of appeal against the arbitrators’ decision and in the event of request of an interim measure, prior to the commencement of the arbitration proceeding.  

Summary: 1. Premessa: dall’art. 35, comma 5, d. lgs. n. 5/2003 all’art. 838-ter, comma 4, cod. proc. civ. – 2. L’ambito applicativo del potere di sospensiva: la convenzione di arbitrato; l’arbitrato irrituale. – 3. Segue: le decisioni assunte nell’ambito di società di persone; le deliberazioni degli organi di società di capitali, diversi dall’assemblea. – 4. Il coordinamento dell’art. 838-ter, comma 4, cod. proc. civ. con l’art. 818, comma 1, cod. proc. civ. – 5. Profili procedimentali. – 6. (Segue): il reclamo – 7. Conclusioni; le perduranti aporie della fase ante causam.  

Keywords: Challenge of corporate bodies’ resolutions — Arbitration agreement — Power of the arbitrators to order interim measures — Stay of corporate resolutions.

Abstract: Capital adequacy of asset management companies – The paper deals with the issue of capital adequacy of asset management companies (SGRs), reconstructing the regulatory and interpretative framework, and analysing the specificities of regulatory capital, of the criteria for calculating capital elements, and of the implications of adequacy in some phases of the SGRs’ life, from incorporation to cross-border expansion. What emerges is the increasing recourse to the adoption of financial parameters and a dynamic-functional perspective, with an approach to which the recent regulatory innovations on organisational and financial structures introduced by the Corporate Crisis and Insolvency Code appear consistent.  

Summary: 1. Premesse. – 2. Il patrimonio di vigilanza e il controllo prudenziale. – 3. La rilevanza dell’adeguatezza patrimoniale nelle diverse fasi della vita del Gestore. – 3.1. Programma e autorizzazione. – 3.2. Composizione e criteri di computabilità degli elementi del patrimonio di vigilanza. – 3.3. Gli elementi patrimoniali nella politica di contenimento del rischio (risk management). – 3.4. La politica di investimento. – 3.5. Apertura succursale transfrontaliera. – 3.6. I rischi legati all’ “incapienza” del fondo. – 4. I profili di adeguatezza finanziaria (la prospettiva dinamica).  

Keywords: Asset Management Companies — Function of Capital Requirements — Crisis and Insolvency Law.