Principles of Enterprise Law
The Economic Constitution and Human Rights

Shows how the enterprises shaping our lives really work: in education, banking, energy, transport, media & big-tech.

Ewan McGaughey (Author)

9781009045735, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 September 2022

709 pages
24.4 x 16.9 x 4.2 cm, 1.37 kg

'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

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Company, commercial & competition law [LNC]