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Directors' duties are a series of statutory, common law and equitable obligations owed primarily by members of the board of directors to the corporation that employs them. It is a central part of corporate law and corporate governance. Directors' duties are analogous to duties owed by trustees to beneficiaries, and by agents to principals.
Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corporations, or to the theory of corporations .
The duties imposed on directors are fiduciary duties, similar to those that the law imposes on those in similar positions of trust: agents and trustees. The duties apply to each director separately, while the powers apply to the board jointly. Also, the duties are owed to the company itself, and not to any other entity. [41]
WW Cook, A treatise on the law of corporations having a capital stock (7th edn Little, Brown and Co 1913) vol I; WO Douglas and CM Shanks, Cases and Materials on the Law of Management of Business Units (Callaghan 1931) Robert C. Clark, Corporate Law (Aspen 1986) A Cox, DC Bok, RA Gorman and MW Finkin, Labor Law Cases and Materials (14th edn 2006)
Directors' decisions are typically protected under the business judgment rule, unless they breach one of these duties or unless the decision constitutes waste. A breach of fiduciary duty will typically remove a director's decision from business judgment protection and require that the director show entire fairness .
In carrying out their functions, directors (whether formally appointed, de facto, or "shadow directors" [1]) owe a series of duties to the company. [2] There are presently seven key duties codified under the Companies Act 2006 sections 171 to 177, which reflect the common law and equitable principles.
The MBCA has three principal benefits. First, by distilling many matters into black-letter law, it provides guidance on issues that have often been the subject of dispute and litigation (e.g., directors’ duties). This can promote clarity, consistency and certainty in business transactions.
Company law, or corporate law, can be broken down into two main fields, corporate governance and corporate finance. Corporate governance in the UK mediates the rights and duties among shareholders, employees, creditors and directors.