Corporate Law in the Age of Statutes

Many countries have a tradition of complex and detailed corporate laws. Why does this occur when there are costs to detailed laws? This article examines the pressures and mechanisms that transform general statutory principles into more detailed rules. Much corporate law allocates power with respect to the interpretation and implementation of that law. A relevant factor in the design of legislation is therefore an assessment of the merits of bodies to undertake specific tasks that may be delegated to them by legislation. The article evaluates principles relevant to the drafting of corporate laws and evalutes the merits of courts and regulators as two main bodies interpreting and implementing such laws.