This paper explores corporate law rules adopted in some European states amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to track the major reform trends and consider how corporate law in Europe has adjusted to the emergency. The analysis focuses primarily on the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain; occasionally, depending also on the relevant rules actually introduced by the states, other systems are considered as well. The paper groups the emergency measures into three main categories that include rules aimed at facilitating shareholders’ meetings and meetings of the board of directors, rules relaxing directors’ duties and liability and giving directors some leeway as companies face unprecedented challenges and uncertainties, and rules designed to support corporate liquidity. The analysis shows that while some points of similarity exist among the emergency rules considered, there are nevertheless numerous differences in their nature, scope, technicalities, and also timing. These differences emphasize a lack of coordination at the European level. The discussion also sheds light on the potential of some emergency measures to call traditional corporate law rules into question and last in what will be the new normal after the crisis.

中文翻译：

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欧洲紧急时期的公司法规则

本文探讨了在COVID-19大流行期间欧洲一些州采用的公司法规则，以便跟踪主要的改革趋势并考虑欧洲的公司法如何适应紧急情况。分析主要集中在英国，德国，法国，意大利和西班牙。有时，还取决于国家实际引入的相关规则，还考虑其他系统。本文将紧急措施分为三大类，包括旨在促进股东大会和董事会会议的规则，放宽董事的职责和责任以及在公司面临前所未有的挑战和不确定性时给予董事一定的回旋余地的规则，以及制定的规则。支持公司流动性。分析表明，尽管所考虑的紧急规则之间存在某些相似之处，但它们的性质，范围，技术性和时间安排仍存在许多差异。这些差异强调了欧洲一级缺乏协调。讨论还揭示了一些紧急措施可能对传统的公司法规则提出质疑，并在危机后的新常态中延续下去。