ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the ground-breaking Statute of a European Company Directive framework governing codetermination rights and focuses on its footprint for subsequent European Union (EU) corporate law instruments. It addresses, from a broader perspective, the exposure of codetermination rights to transnational corporate strategies secured by EU internal market rules, pinpointing some relevant regulatory loopholes and negative consequences for the enforcement and effectiveness of codetermination rights, and financial, corporate and labour law. The chapter presents the aforementioned Erzberger Case, depicting its antecedents, the parties’ main positions and a critical review of certain aspects of the judgement. It argues that the Court of Justice of the EU withdrew from a catalyst role in furthering EU protection of codetermination rights. The German Codetermination Act has been under employer fire ever since it was adopted, and even subjected to constitutional challenges. The European Commission put forward other legislative proposals with possible implications for codetermination rights.
