ABSTRACT
This Chapter compares German and UK derivative actions with the Greek ‘company’s action’, also considering the derivative action as per the EMCA. The comparison purports to explain the relevant law and show the problems in its construction and function, evaluating at the same time the protection offered by the aforementioned jurisdictions. In doing so, it focuses on rules on the allocation of litigation costs; rules that aim to restrict excessive litigation, such as those on legal standing, rules limiting the actionable cause and rules on ratification and waiver of corporate claims; rules on shareholders’ access to litigation-related information; and the intricacies involved in the conduct of the proceedings post-admission. The analysis illustrates the divergence among the studied jurisdictions, reflecting the legislator’s struggle to strike a fine balance between the availability of the remedy and its abuse. It is submitted that, from the perspective of shareholder protection and corporate governance, there is still room for improvement for the jurisdictions at hand, particularly so regarding Greece.
