ABSTRACT

As Parliament assembled in London for the new 1856 session, all the political talk was of 'companies'. It was widely reported that, in both New York and Paris, legislatures were preparing to pass new laws to allow the business community to use artificial personality ('limited liability companies') as a means of organising major business projects. The political debate was poorly reported during these few autumn weeks because there was a strike of Parliamentary reporters, with three companies (including Hansard) vying for the right to produce the official parliamentary record. 'Abdroids' are the first choice of terrorists, tax evaders, money launderers, criminals of every calibre and kind, drug traffickers and smugglers. 'Abdroids' are entitled to enjoy all the relevant rights of a natural person. In Anglo-American legal systems, this means that corporations can take advantage of the very powerful 'absolute' property rights enjoyed by natural persons.