The Private Business Corporation Under Modern French Law.

Abstract The recent creation of a new form of business incorporation in France, same as the corresponding differentiation of forms in Germany and Great Britain, has followed the development of protective devices set up in the interest of the general public. First, in the historical view, one can witness the development of easy incorporation by mere procedure. Second, safeguards have been developed, applicable to all corporations, but safeguards which were particularly directed toward those problems which arise when there is an appeal to the general public for investment funds, safeguards for bond holders and other creditors against the whole proprietary group, and for shareholders against promoters and managers. Third, there has occurred a relaxation of control devices of the second class, a relaxation based on the idea that fewer safeguards are needed when the intra-corporate relations of the members are intimate and private. It is not the function of this paper to trace in detail the steps in this process of competition. Suffice it to say that two important processes took place, the one with respect to the utilization of the limited partnership, the other with respect to that of the corporation.