The Delaware Court of Chancery asserted in eBay Domestic Holdings v. Newmark that all activities of a for-profit Delaware corporation must seek to maximize the economic value for its stockholders. While the requirement to maximize stockholder value bolsters investors' confidence in Delaware...

Because international law has traditionally been limited to state actors, the literature on business and human rights largely focuses on whether transnational corporations can be held responsible under international law. Less attention is paid to the question of what leads corporations to...

In an era of financial crises, widening income disparities, and environmental and other calamities linked to corporations, calls for greater corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) are increasing rapidly around the world. Though CSR efforts have generally been viewed as voluntary actions...

This article begins with a brief summary of the international legal framework that regulates state interactions. The legal authority for government sanctioned corporate countermeasures, as well as the limitation on these actions, becomes apparent through this framework. The reasons that targeted...

Every month — if not week — brings new reports of allegations, settlements, and, in some cases, admissions involving the banking industry, many involving the largest and best-known banks. The law has attempted to address these problems, but has not done so successfully. Indeed, society...

This article investigates the theory of universal investors and their ability to be agents for socially responsible investing (SRI), with particular regard to the Canadian context. The influential theory depicts large financial institutions as motivated to reduce the social and environmental...

With increased calls from investors, legislators, and academics for corporations to consider employee, environmental, social, and governance factors (“EESG”) when making decisions, boards and managers are struggling to situate EESG within their existing reporting and organizational...

Trustees and other investment fiduciaries of pensions, charities, and personal trusts, and those who advise them, face increasing pressure to rely on ESG factors in the investment management of tens of trillions of dollars of other people's money. At the same time, however, confusion abounds...

To address growing concerns about the negative effects of corporations on their stakeholders, supporters of stakeholder governance (“stakeholderism”) advocate a governance model that encourages and relies on corporate leaders to serve the interests of stakeholders and not only those of...

The rise of a small group of investment (asset) managers with an enormous potential to influence corporate decision-making has reinforced attention to shareholder stewardship as one of the pillars of corporate governance. But weak incentives to invest in shareholder oversight and limited...