The 'Company's Interests' of the 'Società Aperte' Under Italian Corporate Laws

Abstract

This article explains the concept of the “company’s interests” for Italian companies whose shares are listed on the stock exchange or publicly traded. On this topic, “contractual views” and “institutional views” offer very different interpretations. The Italian reform of corporate law or “Vietti Reform” (2003–2006) has introduced several changes to the old civil code and the consolidated law on financial intermediation and listed companies (testo unico sulla finanza-t.u.f.). The latter has been in force since 1998, undergoing several alterations before 2011. The new corporate regulations provide renewed ways of examining these issues and testing the current understanding of the “company’s interests”. We do not consider stateowned companies and groups of companies, since these would require a different discussion.