Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v Inspire Art Ltd
Encyclopedia
Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v Inspire Art Ltd (2003) C-167/01 is a leading corporate law
case, concerning the EU law of freedom of establishment for companies.
It held that national laws which restrict freedom of establishment must be:
ECJ cases
US cases
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
case, concerning the EU law of freedom of establishment for companies.
Facts
Inspire Art Ltd was incorporated in the United Kingdom, which accords to the "incorporation theory" rather than the "real seat theory" of establishing a business in conflict of laws. It wished to carry out business in the Netherlands, which also follows incorporation theory. Dutch law, however, applied to "pseudo foreign" companies to impose minimum capital requirements on businesses operating within the country. The question was whether this disproportionately interfered with Inspire Art Ltd's right to freedom of establishment.Judgment
The ECJ held that creditor protection did not justify imposing additional requirements to those of the United Kingdom, where Inspire Art Ltd was incorporated. In this case, creditors were sufficiently protected by the fact that the company did not hold itself out as a Dutch company, but one subject to UK law.It held that national laws which restrict freedom of establishment must be:
- non-discriminatoryDiscriminationDiscrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
- necessary in order to protect a public interestPublic interestThe public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...
objective - appropriate for securing the attainment of the objective
- proportionate
See also
- UK company law
- European company lawEuropean company lawEuropean company law is an emerging field of legal scholarship, which concerns the formation, operation and insolvency of corporations within the European Union. There is presently no substantive European company law as such, although a host of minimum standards are applicable to companies...
ECJ cases
- R v Her Majesty's Treasury, Ex p Daily Mail and General Trust plc (1988) 81/87 [1989] QB 446
- Centros Ltd v Erhversus-og SelkabssyrelsenCentros Ltd v Erhversus-og SelkabssyrelsenCentros Ltd v Erhversus-og Selkabssyrelsen is a European company law case, concerning the right of freedom of establishment.-Facts:...
(1999) C-212/97, [1999] ECR I-1459 - Überseering BV v Nordic Construction Company Baumanagement GmbHÜberseering BV v Nordic Construction Company Baumanagement GmbHÜberseering BV v Nordic Construction Company Baumanagement GmbH is a European company law case, concerning the right of freedom of establishment.-Facts:...
(2002) C-208/00, [2005] 1 WLR 315 - Gebhard v Consiglio dell'Ordine degli Avvocati e Procuratori di Milano (1995) C-55/94, [1995] ECR I-4165
- Cartesio Oktató és Szolgáltató btCartesio Oktató és Szolgáltató btCartesio Oktató és Szolgáltató bt is a European company law case concerning the right of freedom of establishment.-Facts:A Hungarian limited partnership wished to transfer its operational headquarters to Italy, but stay subject to Hungarian law...
(2008) C-210/06, [2008] WLR (D) 400
US cases
- Liggett v. Lee 288 U.S. 517 (1933)