• Company law basics
  • What is a limited company?
  • Types of companies
  • Limited liability
  • Does a business have to be a limited company?
  • Advantages and disadvantages of running a business as a company?
  • When must a company be registered for VAT?
  • What does it cost to set up a company?
  • What information must a company send to Companies House?
  • Introduction to articles
  • Registered office
  • Changing the registered office
  • Finding a company's registered office
  • Can a company do everything?
  • What are a company's objects?
  • Company seals
  • Companies House
  • Information required on company notepaper
  • Information required on websites, emails and faxes
  • Annual return
  • Company accounts
  • Incorporating an existing business
  • Ready made companies
  • Can a company be moved from one part of the United Kingdom to another?
• Companies legislation
  • Companies Legislation
  • Companies Act 2006 Introduction
  • Accounts, audit and annual returns SIs
  • Articles of Association SIs
  • Company charges SIs
  • Companies House SIs
  • Community Interest Companies SIs
  • Directors SIs
  • Company forms SIs
  • General meeting - shareholders' rights SIs
  • Minority protection SIs
  • Company and business names SIs
  • Overseas companies SIs
  • Political donations SIs
  • Share capital SIs
  • Statutory registers and other records SIs
  • Trading disclosures SIs
  • Companies Legislation before the Companies Act 2006
• Types of companies
  • Types of companies
  • Companies limited by guarantee
  • Community Interest Companies (CIC)
  • Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
  • Property management companies
  • Dormant companies
  • Converting a company from one type to another
• Registering a company
• Company and business names
  • Company names
  • Changing a company's name
  • Protecting a company's name
  • Passing off
  • Trade marks
  • Trade mark registration
  • Trade mark categories of goods and services
  • What does it cost to register a trade mark?
• Articles of association
  • Introduction to articles
  • Model Articles
  • Table A
  • Updating articles
  • What is a general commercial company?
• Directors
  • What is the difference between shareholders and directors?
  • Directors
  • Number of Directors
  • Appointment of Directors
  • Resignation of directors
  • Removal of a director from office
  • Who can be a director?
  • Directors' service addresses
  • Are directors entitled to be paid?
  • Directors as employees
  • Directors' powers
  • Directors' duties
  • Legal position of a managing director
  • Loans to directors
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Company secretary
  • Board meetings
  • Appointing a chairman
  • Quorum at board meetings
• Shares
  • What is a statement of capital?
  • Shares - an introduction
  • Authorised capital
  • How many shares should a company have?
  • Classes of shares
  • Alphabet shares
  • Share certificates
  • Dividends
  • What voting rights do shares have?
  • How do people get shares in a company?
  • Issuing shares
  • Pre-emptive rights
  • Transferring shares
  • What happens if a shareholder dies?
  • How much must a company charge for its shares?
  • Issuing shares for consideration other than cash
  • Can a child own shares?
  • Can a company buy its own shares?
• Shareholders
  • What is the difference between shareholders and directors?
  • What rights does a shareholder have?
  • General meetings
  • Must a company hold general meetings?
  • Calling general meetings
  • Who is entitled to attend general meetings?
  • What is the difference between board meetings and general meetings?
  • Proxies
  • Minutes of members' and directors' decisions
  • Types of resolutions
  • Appointing a chairman
  • Quorum at general meetings
• Shareholders' agreements
• Statutory registers
• Company borrowing and debentures
  • Company borrowing
  • Debentures
  • Fixed and floating charges
  • Registering charges
• Partnerships
  • Partnerships SIs
  • Partnership Act 1890
• LLPs
  • Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs)
  • Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) SIs

Company law links

Our objective is to list every website which contains useful material on company law, with a brief description of each. If you are aware of any links which could be added, or if any of the links cease to work, please let us know. Click here to email the Librarian with your comments and suggestions.

The list is divided into four categories:

UK Government sites | Other UK sites | European sites | International sites | USA sites

UK government sites

Companies House
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk
A very useful site providing free information about all UK registered companies and the ability to order further information on-line with payment by credit card. It also offers a forms download facility and other information about Companies House operations, company law, etc. The guidance booklets and FAQs have a wealth of useful information.

Office of Public Sector Information (formerly HMSO)
www.opsi.gov.uk
An essential source of UK law. OPSI publishes on the internet all UK legislation since 1988. The current main companies legislation, the Companies Act 2006 and all statutory instruments since 1987 are available.

For a wider selection of material see the BAILII website below

BIS (formerly the BERR, before that the DTI and once upon a time the Board of Trade)
http://www.bis.gov.uk/
(Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) A major source of information about company law reform proposals. Information about the BIS and its activities, including consultation documents on company law reform, etc. There is some useful information on the Companies Act 2006 and its implementation, but use this link because the pages are difficult to find.

Intellectual Property Office (formerly Patent and Trade Mark Office)
www.ipo.gov.uk
Now an extremely useful site on trade marks (as well as patents), including a free on-line trade mark search facility, and a great deal of information on trade mark law and practice.

Inland Revenue
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk
Information about taxes and procedures for corporate and individual tax returns, etc., including access to published Inland Revenue leaflets. A variable standard of information. Some featured areas are good, but in other areas the information provided is disappointing, being terse and without easy explanation. Now combined with the Customs and Excise website.

Insolvency Service
www.insolvency.gov.uk
A very useful site on corporate insolvency and personal bankruptcy. A wide range of guidance material and published leaflets available to download. Also insolvency forms, addresses, effect of Civil Procedure rules on insolvency processes, useful FAQs and information about insolvency legislation. Some irritating display features.

VAT (HM Customs and Excise)
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/
For VAT information, click here. Detailed and useful information on VAT. Now combined with the Inland Revenue website.

Law Commission
www.lawcom.gov.uk
The Law Commission's task is to review areas of law and report. For its report on company security interests go to http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/company_security.htm.

Financial Services Authority
www.fsa.gov.uk
The FSA is the regulatory body for all financial services.

Other UK sites

The British and Irish Legal Information Institute
www.bailii.org (BAILII) provides access to the most comprehensive free and up-to-date collection of British and Irish primary legal materials on the Internet. An excellent source of legislation and case law.

Intute: Social Science
http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/law/
Guidance and access to legal information resources on the Internet. Wide range of links to all sorts of other law related websites..

Delia Venables
www.venables.co.uk
Delia Venables was a pioneer in providing on-line information about on-line legal information, and her site is excellent for finding links.

Pension Investment Research Consultants
www.pirc.co.uk
Interesting site on corporate governance issues. Gives good links to other corporate governance sites.

Stock Exchange
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/
Information on the operations of the Stock Exchange, companies listed on it, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), market statistics, news, etc.

NASDAQ
www.nasdaq.co.uk
Details of UK operations of the US based share trading service

Federation of Small Businesses
www.fsb.org.uk
Pressure group for small businesses. Some useful comment on regulatory and tax issues.

Lawlinks
http://www.kent.ac.uk/lawlinks/
A very useful site from the University of Kent.

Legal Technology Online
www.legaltechnology.org
A general law website, good for links to other sites

ICC
www.icclaw.com
Mostly news about lawyers and law firms, both in the UK and internationally.

European sites

Europa - the main EU website
http://europa.eu/index.htm
Includes texts of the treaties, regulations, directives, ECJ cases, etc.

Council of the European Union
http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/index.htm
Press releases, events, etc of the EU Commission.

European Corporate Governance Institute
http://www.ecgi.org/
Useful European corporate governance site

Gibraltar
www.gibraltar.gi/finance
Details of Gibraltar companies, registration, etc.

France (in French)
www.inpi.fr
Detailed company registration information

Italy (in Italian)
http://www.infocamere.it/
Primarily a list of company information providers, though it does give the addresses of the various companies registries in Italy, and the information and documents available there.

Switzerland
www.zefix.admin.ch
Information on Swiss companies, available in English.

Eire Companies Registration Office
www.cro.ie
Details of company formation requirements, companies legislation, forms download, etc.

Jersey
www.jerseyfsc.org
The Guidance Notes section gives quite detailed information on Jersey companies.

German Business Law
http://www.germanbusinesslaw.de/
A German attorney's guide to German business law in English.

German Law Journal
http://www.germanlawjournal.net/
Especially the article on recent developments in German company law.

 

International sites

The Australasian Legal Information Institute
www.austlii.edu.au
Provides free access to Australian and New Zealand legal materials. AustLII publishes public legal information, that is, primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals); and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (e.g. law reform and royal commission reports) An excellent site.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission
www.asic.gov.au
Excellent site. News on company law developments in Australia. Details of company registration procedures and costs. Company name database with search facility. Interesting section on electronic filing.

Ministry of Company Affairs Government of India
http://www.mca.gov.in/
A comprehensive site giving Companies Registry annual reports, etc. details of the State companies registries, but also considerable detail on companies legislation in India including the Companies (Amendment) Act 1999 and current reform proposals.

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan
www.secp.gov.pk

Hong Kong (Peoples Republic of China)
http://www.business.gov.hk/bep/opencms/release/eng/index.html
Quite good information on company law and registration.

Transnational Law Digest and Bibliography

USA

The Corporate Library (USA)
www.thecorporatelibrary.com

Cleveland University Law Library (USA)
www.clelaw.lib.oh.us

Cornell Law Library (USA)
www.law.cornell.edu/statutes.html

Berkeley Law Library (USA)
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/
The Corporate Library is a central repository for research, study and critical thinking about the nature of the modern global corporation, with a special focus on corporate governance and the relationship between company management, their boards and their share owners.

Delaware
http://www.state.de.us/corp/
Good site about registration and law on Delaware corporations.

New York
www.dos.state.ny.us/corp/corpwww.html
Detailed information on legal questions, filing information, etc for New York registered companies.

New York Stock Exchange
www.nyse.com
Detailed site on operations of the New York Stock Exchange

Corporate Governance (USA)
www.corpgov.net
Useful USA site on corporate governance issues

Our policy is to provide links to all useful websites containing authoritative company law material. Please help us to achieve this by providing your comments about the existing facility and by making suggestions for improvement. Click here to email the Librarian with your comments and suggestions.