April 27, 2007
Short introduction Prof. Mr. W.J. Slagter
Prof. Wicher Jan Slagter, born in 1923, is emeritus professor of civil and commercial law, private international law and company law of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Starting his career as a lawyer in Rotterdam in1947, he has an experience in the legal field covering 6 decades, having received his Ph.D. degree cum laude at Leyden University in 1952. From 1961-1989, he taught at Erasmus University of Rotterdam, serving as Rector Magnificus from 1968-1970. In addition to his academic position, he has published numerous books and articles, and held many positions in business and social organizations, including serving on the supervisory board of several large companies, member of the Privy Council and of the Social-Economic Council, important advisory bodies of the government. After retiring from university in 1989, he continued working as a lawyer at several large law firms until 2003, and was rated among the top 5 laywers in the Netherlands for three years in a row. Prof. Slagter is still active, writing books and articles, giving lectures, working as a private lawyer, doing advisory work, and teaching post-graduate students.
Guest lecture “Corporate Law and Governance in the EU” – summary
On Friday, 27 April, at 11.00, Prof. Slagter will give a guest lecture at the Riga Graduate School of Law on “Corporate Law and Governance in the EU - Balancing the rights of shareholders, management, workers and consumers in a changing legal environment".
Under the influence of globalization, EU legislation, increased worker representation, the growing influence of venture capitalists and institutional investors, greater demands for transparency from shareholders and consumers, as well as recent scandals exposing abuse of power and trust by management (Enron, Ahold), the relationships between the various stakeholders in companies’ well-being (managers, shareholders, workers, consumers, etc.) are constantly changing, to which the legal framework and practice need to adapt accordingly. As a country with a highly developed economy which is home to many large multinational corporations, the Netherlands holds important lessons in protecting the rights and interests of the various stakeholders in business and industry.
The Latvian company law will be compared with the European and Dutch company law. As Latvia is now a member of the EU, Latvian company law has to be adapted to the European directives on company law. A summary will be given on differences and similarities of Latvian and European and Dutch company law.