Trust in the independence of auditors is essential for the functioning of markets. If auditors are not independent or not believed to be independent, transaction costs will rise. In our view, structural weaknesses currently impair auditor independence. We therefore put forward several reform...

Statutory auditors serve as an integral device to safeguard confidence in European financial markets. The market for corporate auditing is highly concentrated. A collapse of one of the top four auditing firms could cause a severe lack in the availability of auditing services. In a 2007 Staff...

The fundamentals of stock exchange law have received less attention than their economic, social, political, and legal weight calls for. This paper aims to change that. First, we point readers to the concept and history of stock exchange law as an important subject for contemporary research....

The business corporation is one of the greatest organizational inventions. But it creates risks for both shareholders and third parties. To mitigate these risks, legislators, judges, and corporate lawyers have tried to learn from experiences in other jurisdictions and adapt their regulatory...

Executive summary This study by Civic Consulting provides an overview of the extent of the problem of directory companies reported to apply misleading practices. It describes judicial and nonjudicial measures taken by affected enterprises and discusses initiatives by Member States aimed at...

Consumers long for a green transition and want more durable products, less consumption or waste. However, the current legal framework, in particular the Sale of Goods Directive does not reflect this desire for sustainable consumption.This Response aims at providing answers to the European...

The Guide for Regulating Dispute Resolution (GRDR) recommends transnational structures and principles for the regulation of dispute resolution in civil and commercial matters. It covers dispute resolution mechanisms in all their varieties, including negotiation, mediation, conciliation, expert...

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is the most influential work in economics ever written. But it is neither complete nor perfect. Smith's theory of the firm, or the lack thereof, is one of the masterpiece's blind spots. Smith thought history had shown that joint stock companies cannot compete with...

High-frequency trading, dark pools, front-running, phantom orders, short selling — the way securities are traded ranks high among today's regulatory challenges. It has become commonplace, both in financial and in academic circles, to call for the government to intervene and impose order. From...