Distinguished Guest Lecture
“South American Company Law:
Reshaping the Closely-Held Entity Landscape”
Wednesday, 18 October 2023, 11:00 - 12:00
Lecturer:
Adjunct Prof. Francisco Reyes Villamizar
(University Javeriana, Bogóta)
Francisco Reyes Villamizar is a former Superintendent of Companies from Colombia and in 2015 was the Chairman of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). He has been an active participant and draftsman of several comprehensive legislative reforms to the Colombian laws of Corporations and Bankruptcy, including the successful law on Simplified Stock Corporations enacted in 2008.
He prepared the OAS Model Law on Simplified Corporations. He also presided over the governmental commissions for the amendment of the Colombian Bankruptcy Law and the Law on Secured Transactions. As a consultant to the World Bank, he co-drafted the 2022 Commercial Code of Mozambique.
Abstract
After the enactment in 2017 of the OAS Model Law on Simplified Corporations, law reform has taken off in the field of closely-held entities in South America. As expected, as a result of that legislative initiative, a growing harmonization has ensued in the region. Several South American countries have taken steps to update their company laws and to improve the current legal framework. However, it must be borne in mind that the initial drafting of the Model Law took place almost two decades ago, and several new concepts have arisen in the field of Company Law. It's time, therefore, to rethink the policy agenda in light of new economic and legal realities.
The focus of this lecture will be on the foundations and evolution of the OAS Model Law and also on new developments which should pave the way to a more effective Company Law system for the region.
Venue:
Max Planck Institute Luxembourg
Conference room, 4th floor
4, rue Alphonse Weicker
L-2721 Luxembourg