Research activities

Fifth German-Italian Symposium on Company Law at unibz

My thanks go to Paolo Giudici and Peter Agstner for hosting the Fifth German-Italian Symposium on Company Law at the Faculty of Economics and Management of unibz (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano) in Bozen on 16/17 April 2026.

I had the pleasure to talk about „The Duties and Responsibilities of Board Members in Controlled Companies - Between Company Interest, Group Interest and the Interest of the Controlling Shareholder“. I did so with a view to the current debate on the reform of German group law.

Workshop on Comparative Corporate Group Law at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

On Friday, 13 March 2026, I held a workshop on comparative group law with dear colleagues from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and Universidad de los Andes in Santiago de Chile. In the course of our talk I depicted the current reform debate in Germany and the topics and issues that will be discussed on the next DJT in Erfurt. Once again, I would like to thank Andrea Martínez and Osvaldo Lagos Villarreal for their hospitality.

International conference on the duties and liability of directors in corporate groups

On 10 March 2026 I had the pleasure to talk about “Multiple hats, multiple liability?“ at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Santiago de Chile. In my presentation I depicted the many issues related to the assignment of directors' conduct and knowledge to their company under German Law. I did so by referring to a recent FCJ decision that dealt with a case where the tortfeasor held directorships in several members of the same corporate group. My heartfelt thanks go to Andrea Martinez who invited me to Chile and organized the event.

Please follow the link for further information.

Elgar Encyclopedia of European Law

The Elgar Encyclopedia of European Law is now available on Elgaronline. Launching with almost 100 entries and expanding to over 400, the Encyclopedia brings together carefully curated contributions by leading practitioners and scholars from across the region, under the expert editorship of Oana Ștefan and Andrea Biondi, who is a current Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

I have contributed the entry on the “Transparency Directive” to the Encyclopedia.

Further information on the Elgar Encyclopedia of European Law is available at: https://www.elgaronline.com/display/book/9781800885240/9781800885240.xml

The entry “Transparency Directive” can be accessed directly at: https://www.elgaronline.com/display/book/9781800885240/b-9781800885240.transparency.directive.xml

 

Justice Without Litigation II

On 11 July, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Justice Without Litigation II workshop in Berlin, an EU-funded event dedicated to rethink legal process through interdisciplinary exchange. In my keynote on “Bounded Rationality, Paternalism and the Law”, I explored how insights from behavioral economics can inform legal practicioners, but also legislators in their work.

For more information, please visit the following link: https://juwili.eu/
Many thanks go to the organizers for the kind invitation and the excellent organization.

First German-Chilean Symposium on Company and Securities Law at JGU

On June 26 & 27, 2025, I had the great pleasure of hosting the first German-Chilean Symposium on Company and Securities Law at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Twelve speakers, six from each country, presented their topics and laid the basis for lively and fruitful discussions.

My thanks go to the eleven participants who came from near and far to discuss corporate and securities law issues from a comparative perspective:Jaime Alcalde, Guillermo Caballero, Lorena Carvajal, Jens Koch, Osvaldo Lagos, Pablo Manterola, Andrea Martínez, Dörte Poelzig, Alexander Sajnovits, Jennifer Trinks and Tobias Tröger.

Furthermore, I want to express my special thanks to Annette Hippel, David Leib und Katharina Neuwirth for their great help in organizing and hosting the conference.

Fourth German-Italian Symposium on Company and Capital Markets Law

On April 10 – 11, the Fourth German-Italian Symposium on Company and Capital Markets Law took place at the Max Planck Institute in Hamburg, focusing on business scandals and their legal repercussions. I had the pleasure of contributing a presentation on “The Wirecard Scandal – Audacious Fraudsters and True Believers”.
My thanks go to Marco Speranzin and Holger Fleischer (and his team) for hosting and organising the conference.

Insights from the German East-Asian Conference on Corporate and Securities Law: ESG Investing under the Market Abuse Regulation

On March 21 – 22, the German East-Asian Conference on Corporate and Securities Law took place at the Univeversity of Tokyo, focusing on ESG, Sustainability, and Corporate and Securities Law. I had the pleasure of contributing to Session IV: ESG Investment, where I talked about „ESG Investing under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)“.
My thanks go to Prof. Tomotaka Fujita and his team for hosting and organising the conference.

Whistleblowing: Incentives and Situational Determinants

Our experimental paper on "Whistleblowing: Incentives and Situational Determinants" (co-authored with Verena Utikal) has been published by the Journal of Business Economics (JBE). The study explores key factors influencing individuals' decisions to report misconduct. We examine how incentives and situational conditions shape whistleblowing behaviour, providing valuable insights into regulatory and organizational frameworks. The paper is available under the following link.

Clash of Cultures: The EU Whistleblower Directive and National Company Law

I am pleased to share my latest article, "Clash of Cultures: The EU Whistleblower Directive and National Company Law", published in the International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations (Vol. 41, Issue 1, 2025). The piece examines the tensions between the EU Whistleblower Directive and traditional company law principles, exploring how the new whistleblowing regime disrupts corporate compliance structures and suggesting ways to mitigate these frictions. You can find the full article here.