The company - forgotten by the law

• Maître Jean-Philippe ROBÉ
  Barrister, New York and Paris
  

Summary

The head of a company is not in sole command. The law restricts some of his activities. However, it is a surprising paradox that the company does not exist as such in the legal system : it is the activities and contracts upon which the company is based, which are the objects of restrictive legal regulations. Yet, in an environment where competition stimulates new ideas, the company is capable of adapting its organisation and is constantly inventing new ways of operating. These generate a flood of legal regulations which are relatively ineffective. The new ways of operating have not prevented the company from gradually establishing itself as a new force between the individual and the State. As it is the driving force of the economy, its increasing strength allows it to take political decisions which affect everybody. Its scope, which is often international, and its influence, which is sometimes world-wide, give it a status which rivals that of governments and which is not subject to official guidelines.

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

• The entire article was written by Lucien CLAES.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it for free in French (PDF help) or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference VA010601).

The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 32.