ABSTRACT
The discussion of the appropriate legal form for directors’ duties must take into account the views of those who would have to work within the new rules if the debate is to produce results that enjoy general support from business. The process leading up to revised legislation may itself have ‘business value’ insofar as: (a) it leads business people to reflect upon their own practice and the issues
they consider to be important in the context of their business;1
(b) it provides an opportunity to argue for ‘levelling the playing field’, that is, that the social and environmental standards of the best performers should not be put at risk by those content to operate at a lower level in these areas;2
(c) it provokes fresh discussion of the UK’s current position relative to laws of other major states;3
(d) it creates new opportunities to examine the economic impact of legal rules on directors and shareholders, companies and third parties.4
