This paper argues for the UK to revisit the legal capital (maintenance of capital) doctrine. Leaving the EU could present an opportunity but to reform legal capital just because Brexit may make it possible to do so would have little merit. Three more substantial reasons for revisiting legal capital are developed: the evidence against legal capital being an effective bulwark against short termist corporate behaviour has continued to stack up; difficulties associated with applying legal rules on distributions in the context of modern financial reporting requirements have persisted; and we have a clearer sense of how creditors’ interests are affected by moving away from legal capital to solvency standards. The paper locates the need to revisit legal capital within the broader agenda for a system of effective corporate governance and regulation that supports economically worthwhile and sustainable business activity.

中文翻译：

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重访合法资本

本文主张英国重新审视合法资本（资本维持）学说。离开欧盟可能会提供一个机会，但仅仅是改革合法资本因为英国脱欧可能使之脱颖而出，却没有什么好处。再次提出了重新审视合法资本的三个重要理由：反对合法资本成为抵制短期公司行为的有效堡垒的证据不断增加；在现代财务报告要求的背景下，与对分配适用法律规则有关的困难仍然存在；我们对从合法资本转向偿付能力标准如何影响债权人的利益有更清晰的认识。本文认为有必要在更广泛的议程中重新审查合法资本，以建立有效的公司治理和监管系统，以支持具有经济价值和可持续的商业活动。