The disclosure of corporate information as a correlate of market participation by Hanno Merkt

Which basic principles and relationships govern corporate disclosure?  Hanno Merkt develops a comprehensive system for understanding corporate disclosure that incorporates the key elements of a universal disclosure framework.  With this effort he offers suggestions for legal practice and future regulation.
 
The diverse array of markets are furnished with information on corporations through various forms of disclosure, and Merkt explores the underlying principles and relationships of corporate disclosure.
 
Through an introduction which traces historical and comparative law developments (EU and USA) and by setting forth an economic framework, he establishes a doctrinal foundation for corporate disclosure.  Capital market disclosures establish the starting point.  The functions of disclosure as a means for protecting both individuals and market integrity are fashioned as load bearing doctrinal pillars.  These primary functions are connected to numerous sub-functions. 
 
From these underpinnings, Merkt develops a comprehensive system of corporate disclosure in which market chronology and the intensity of market demand act as the central parameters for the content and breadth of corporate candor.  With the help of this system, he works out the important elements of a general corporate disclosure matrix such as market participation as well as the publication, control and enforcement of disclosure.  The doctrinal and the systematic considerations yield concrete consequences and suggestions for effective practice and effective corporate disclosure laws.  In the process, gaps reveal themselves that can be closed through voluntary as well as regulatory means.  Furthermore, it becomes apparent which areas are overregulated and in which areas a superfluous provision of corporate data prevails.  The work is rounded out with recommendations for optimizing efficiency in real-world practice.
 
 
 
About the Author
 
Born in 1960; 1980-87 studied law, history and Romanistik (romance languages and literature) in Mannheim, Bonn and Santiago de Compostella; 1985-87 research assistant at the University of Bonn; 1988-90 LL.M. studies and subsequent research residency at the University of Chicago, USA; 1989 received Dr. iur (doctorate in law); 1993 completed second state examination for legal practice in Germany; since 1993 senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg; 1996-99 fellowship recipient of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation); 2000 postdoctoral lecture qualification (Habilitation) and temporary assignment as private and comparative law chair at the University of Regensburg; since 2000 professor of civil law at the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg.