The Ownership of a Corporation

Although it is a key player in our lives, the business community remains an enigma to us in many ways. It seems that a century of theoretical research and practical experience have merely deepened the mystery. From time to time, however, a new and ingenious insight emerges in the business world, and dozens or even hundreds of books are written in the new direction. Nonetheless, we have yet to find unequivocal answers to basic questions about corporations, such as: What is a corporation? What is its purpose? How should its activity be regulated? In general, we must admit that, in the Western world, corporation law has failed to comprehend business entities.

This book does not purport to address all the questions, but it does clarify one of the most important basic issues in commercial law: the question of ownership of a corporation, and the challenges that emerge from that. The first section deals with the theoretical aspects of the problem. The second part is an in-depth analysis of legal problems that are related to the definition of a corporation, which also explores the complex relationship between the corporation as a legal entity and its shareholders. The third section moves from the realm of theory to that of practice and examines the dynamic reality of the corporation in the economic, political, legal, and social space in which it exists. In the fourth section, the author raises practical answers and innovative solutions to problems in corporation law.

This volume is the first in a series. The second volume addresses a related and complementary issue: the purpose of the corporation.