Search results (680 cards)

Advanced search

Regulating Global Corporate Capitalism

Complete reference : Randall LUTTER, How Well Do Federal Regulations Actually Work? The Role of Retrospective Review, Mercatus Center, Working Paper - April 2012, 26 p.

http://www.sec.gov/index.htm

Contacts: 
The Securities and Exchange Commission has 12 offices across the country (Washington, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Fort worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City & San Francisco): see official website

Translated Summaries

In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors

ENGLISH

On November 28, 2011, the French Council of State issued a summary judgment suspending the Government price freeze on household natural gas prices because the ‘price scissors’ effect it had was harming competition, and because no superior legal norm justified the freeze.

 

FRENCH

Le 28 Novembre 2011, le Conseil d’Etat a rendu une Ordonnance de référé, suspendant le gel des prix du gouvernement concernant les prix domestiques du gaz naturel, car l’effet de «ciseaux des prix"  avait pour effet de nuire à la concurrence, et parce qu’il n’existe pas de norme juridique supérieure justifiait ce gel des tarifs par un décret.

 

SPANISH

El 28 de noviembre de 2011, el Consejo de Estado francés emitió una orden judicial de congelación del precio del gobierno sobre los precios internos del gas natural, porque el efecto del "precio de tijeras" efecto fue el de perjudicar a la competencia, y porque no existe una norma legal que justifica el congelamiento de las tarifas por decreto.

ITALIAN

Il 28 novembre 2011, il Consiglio di stato francese ha reso una sentenza sommaria in cui ordina la sospensione de gelo dei prezzi del gas naturale per le famiglie, previsto precedentemente dal governo, l’effetto “forbice prezzi” causato da tale decisione stava causando danni alla libera concorrenza e poiché tale decisione di gelare i prezzi non era fondata su nessuna norma legale superiore.

SPANISH

El 28 de noviembre del 2011, el Conseil d’Etat (Consejo de Estado de Francia) decidió que la prohibición de los OGM establecido por varias decretos ministeriales en diciembre 2007 y febrero 2008 no son válidos. La razón principal detrás de esta decisión es la falta de prueba suficiente dada por el gobierno francés que los OGM representan una gran amenaza a la salud pública y el ambiente. No obstante, los Ministros de Agricultura y Ambiente declararon el 13 de enero 2012 que esta misma prohibición será adoptada.

........................

Other translation forthcoming.

The French law provides that the Commission de Régulation de l'Énergie - CRE (French Regulatory Energy Commission) publishes an annual report on compliance with codes of conduct and independence of the power transmission grid operators. In Decembre 2014, CRE has published its report on compliance with codes of conduct and independence of electricity networks and natural gas (Respect des codes de bonne conduite et indépendance des gestionnaires de réseaux d'électricité et de gaz naturel).

This particular statutory provision shows the proximity between Regulation and Governance, nearby sometimes believed limited to the sphere of banking and finance.

This is designed especially for managers of transport networks which are often subsidiaries of incumbents production and energy sales, economic and legal integration that the law does not prohibit even though it requires independence transport network managers. This independence must be de facto and not de jure, which is a higher requirement than mere legal autonomy of companies, the result of the requirements of "governance", the operator is obliged not to exercise the rights and powers its parent company status yet gives a regular basis so that the first principle of independence of the network manager is preserved.

The relationship between the controlling shareholder and its subsidiary are governed by "codes of conduct" in the mandatory order of the independence of management and decision making of the subsidiary. In a 90-page reportthe regulator sets the constraints so that this goal leads in effect on the parent company, beyond corporate law.

However, the regulator is very severe. It believes that the way in which subsidiaries present themselves to consumers mark such similarity with their parent that these third parties can't identify them as independent of them. According to the regulator, consumers therefore don't identify them as carriers or distributors of energy also offered by competitors of their parent.

Thus, the regulator considers it necessary that these subsidiaries will change their brands, logos and legal designation, eg ERDF ceases to have a name so close to EDF.

The implicit question is the legal effect of such reproaches and suggestions, if the companies aren't listening. The report discusses the prospect to bring the question before their independent body able to impose sanctions. But the case will be difficult because the principle of independence meets the principle of freedom and the terms of the interference between regulatory law and corporate law aren't yet clearly established.

Full reference: Frison-Roche, M.-A., The control by regulator of the essential infrastructure manager's investment plan: example of electric network and the notion of "doctrine", Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation, 24th of August 2020

Read by freely subscribing other news of the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation

 

Summary of the news

On 31st of July 2020, the Commission de Régulation de l'Energie (CRE and French energy regulator) has examined the investment plan of the French electric network manager (RTE) as it does every year. This investment plan is an economic document but it also contains societal purposes, especially the adaptation of the electric network in order to integrate renewable energies. 

The control by the CRE is not a financial control. The crucial operator (RTE) is free to decide the way it wants to manage its budget. The CRE just advices on the financial side by recommending for exemple to be more flexible in its financial strategies. The true CRE's control is about the investment plan's general orientations, the methodology of needs analysis and crucial operator's investment choices which must be aligned with those of the regulator.

Such a control leads to the emergence of an "investment doctrine" from the side of the crucial operator, mixing its own choices and the regulator's guidelines. Beyond this, the elaboration of the investment plan is the result of a true co-writing between the regulator and the firm which discuss together, exchanges points of view and methods. Such a method, expressing a kind of coregulation, could be used in other sectors. 

From 2006 to 2009, she was director of the Centre d’études en droit économique (Economic Law Research Centre). Professor Crête’s works and teaching revolve around corporate law, financial markets regulation and corporate governance. She is currently in charge of a research study on assets, wealth and estate management’s legal framework. Ever since the creation of the Collège des administrateurs des sociétés (College of corporate administrators) Raymonde Crête participates in the institution’s training of corporate directors on governance issues.