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16 - Norway

Corporate governance on the outskirts of the EU

from B - Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2013

By
Beate Sjåfjell  and
Cecilie Kjelland
Edited by
Andreas M. Fleckner  and
Klaus J. Hopt
Andreas M. Fleckner
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany
Klaus J. Hopt
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany
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Summary

Introduction

This chapter gives an overview of the regulation of corporate governance in Norway, indicating also, to a certain extent, the practice related to and the effect of the regulation. The section following this introduction includes an overview of relevant acts and other sources of law. The main emphasis is on the third section, which focuses on the internal balance between the company organs, notably the composition of the different organs, the independence of directors, and shareholders' rights and obligations. The fourth section focuses on external corporate governance, mainly the regulation of takeovers, whereas sections five and six give a brief overview on enforcement and recent development regarding reporting on corporate social responsibility.

General information on corporate governance

Definition of corporate governance

There is no definition of corporate governance in Norway as a matter of law. The dominant corporate governance code (The Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance [“The Corporate Governance Code”]) does not expressly define the term either, but an indication is given of the understanding of the concept through the issues with which the code deals. The focus is on the relationship between the shareholders and the board. This is confirmed through the objective of the Corporate Governance Code, which is given as promoting companies' practice of corporate governance that regulates the division of roles between shareholders, the board of directors, and executive management more comprehensively than is required by legislation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Comparative Corporate Governance
A Functional and International Analysis
 , pp. 702 - 752
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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References

Aarbakke, M., Aarbakke, A., Knutsen, G., Ofstad, T. and Skaare, J. (eds.), Aksjeloven og Allmennaksjeloven: Kommentarutgave (Commentary to the Norwegian Private Limited Liability Companies Act and the Public Limited Liability Companies Act), (in Norwegian), 2nd edn. (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 2004).
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  • Norway
  • Edited by Andreas M. Fleckner, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany, Klaus J. Hopt, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany
  • Book: Comparative Corporate Governance
  • Online publication: 05 July 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139177375.021
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Norway
  • Edited by Andreas M. Fleckner, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany, Klaus J. Hopt, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany
  • Book: Comparative Corporate Governance
  • Online publication: 05 July 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139177375.021
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Norway
  • Edited by Andreas M. Fleckner, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany, Klaus J. Hopt, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht, Germany
  • Book: Comparative Corporate Governance
  • Online publication: 05 July 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139177375.021
Available formats
×