Principles of Enterprise Law: The Economic Constitution and Human Rights

by Ewan McGaughey

Overview

Major enterprises shape our lives in countless ways: big tech and 'surveillance media' that affect democratic debate, algorithms that influence online shopping, transport to work and home, energy and agriculture corporations that drive climate damage, and public services that provide our education, health, water, and housing. The twentieth century experienced swings between private and public ownership, between capitalism and socialism, without any settled, principled outcome, and without settling major questions of how enterprises should be financed, governed and the rights we have in them. This book's main question is 'are there principles of enterprise law', and, if they are missing, 'what principles of enterprise law should there be'? Principles of Enterprise Law gives a functional account of the 'general' enterprise laws of companies, investment, labour, competition and insolvency, before moving into specific enterprises, from universities to the military. It is an original guide to our economic constitution and human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781316517642
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2022
Series:	Law in Context
Pages:	709
Product dimensions:	6.89(w) x 9.92(h) x 1.85(d)

About the Author

Dr Ewan McGaughey is a Reader at the School of Law, King's College, London, and a Research Associate at the Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge. He has taught corporate law, insolvency law, contracts, property, labour law, and economic regulation at UCL, the Paris and London School of Economics, and has worked as a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Sydney. He has also published A Casebook on Labour Law (2019) and is a volunteer advocate at the Free Representation Unit.

Table of Contents

Introduction: what is enterprise law? Part I. History and Theory: 1. History: state and corporate power; 2. Modern theory; Part II. General Enterprise Law: 3. Corporate constitutions and directors; 4. Investment and shareholding; 5. Labour rights; 6. Competition and consumers; 7. Insolvency and creditors; Part III. Specific Enterprises: 8. Education; 9. Health and care; 10. Banking; 11. Natural resources; 12. Energy; 13. Food and water; 14. Housing and construction; 15. Road and rail transport; 16. Communications; 17. Web and broadcast media; 18. Marketplaces; 19. Military and security; Part IV. Policy: 20. Fiscal and social policy; Conclusion: the future of enterprise.

Editorial Reviews

‘The enterprise is both the core institution of modern economies, and the cause of risks which are becoming existential for human society. Rendering the enterprise visible in law is an urgent task of intellectual reconstruction. In this important and highly original work, Ewan McGaughey maps the terrain with erudition and insight.’ Simon Deakin, Professor of Law, University of Cambridge

‘Ewan McGaughey’s tour de force has great value for readers of different kinds, (in particular) those interested in the regulatory framework that governs complex enterprises – specifically powerful corporations and institutional investors.… His compilation of enterprise law, in all its aspects, into useful summary chapters serves as a handy reference for anyone seeking an immediate summary of the regulatory structures governing different enterprises within the UK, and a tool to begin further research.’ Leo E. Strine, Of counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; former Chief Justice and Chancellor, Delaware

From the Publisher