• Corporate collapse and the reform of boardroom structures - lessons from America?

      Griffin, Stephen (Sweet & Maxwell, 2003)
      Comments on the events leading to the collapse of the Enron corporation in the US. Highlights the responsibility for Enron's demise, focusing on the role of the auditors, the board and senior management. Examines key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002, passed as a direct response to Enron, including the prohibitions on corporate activity, the regulation of auditors and the imposition of criminal penalties. Discusses the UK's response to the corporate scandals in the US, reviewing proposed reforms in the Higgs report relating to boardroom structures and the role of non-executive directors, and the scope of the revised Code on Corporate Governance, published in July 2003.
    • Enron and the End of Corporate Governance.

      Campbell, David; Griffin, Stephen (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2006)
      This book - one in the four-volume set, Global Governance and the Quest for Justice - focuses on the role of corporations in an increasingly globalised world. Against the backcloth of perceived abuse of corporate power - alleged violations of human rights, degradation of the environment, abuse of labour, Enron-style financial scandals, and the like - the chapters in this collection examine the nature and function of the corporation as well as the way in which we should understand corporate governance and the power of transnational corporations. Central to the question is the issue of accountability, as well as the questions of social and environmental responsibility - here the authors ask whether corporations should be more accountable relative to the broader public interest, and suggest that public law approaches to accountability may offer a way forward. Consideration is also given to the most appropriate regulatory locus (local, regional, or international) and the most effective form of response to the deficit in corporate responsibility and the abuse of corporate power. For example, are transnational corporations most effectively regulated internationally (e.g., by the United Nations), regionally (e.g., by the EU or NAFTA) or locally (e.g., through stringent reporting requirements and implementation of triple bottom line standards)?
    • Extinguishing the Flames of the Phoenix Company

      Griffin, Stephen (Oxford University Press, 2002)
      Considers the legal regulation of phoenix companies. Discusses: (1) the definition of a phoenix company; (2) the scope of the Insolvency Act 1986 s.216; (3) exemptions to the incursion of liability under s.216; and (4) reforms suggested in the Final Report of the Company Law Steering Group.