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New Provisions for Virtual General Meetings in the German Stock Corporations Act (Aktiengesetz, AktG)

At the beginning of the Covid-19-pandemic, the German law on relief from Covid-19-pandemic impacts (Gesetz zur Abmilderung der Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie im Zivil-, Insolvenz-, und Strafverfahrensrecht; the “Covid-19-Act”) introduced provisions expressly permitting, for the first time in German history, virtual general meetings (Hauptversammlung). Unsurprisingly, almost all large German stock corporations held their 2020 and 2021 annual general meetings in virtual form. The subsequent extension of the Covid-19-Act through 31 August, 2022 enabled this trend to continue in the 2022 general meeting season. German lawmakers have acknowledged and accepted the preference for virtual general meetings and consequently amended, effective with publication in the Federal Gazette, the German Stock Corporations Act (Aktiengesetz, AktG) (the “Amendment”), thus turning what was indented to be...To read the full article, please see the PDF file

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Authors

ドミニク・クルーゼ

Dominik Kruse

  • Partner
  • Frankfurt / Düsseldorf

Dominik serves as co-representative of our offices in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf, Germany. He advises Japanese companies on corporate and cross-border M&A matters, as well as European companies regarding their business expansion into Southeast Asia (notably Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam). He has a wealth of international experience and brings unique insights into deal-making across different cultures in both emerging and mature markets. Before joining the Tokyo office of Nishimura & Asahi in November 2019, Dominik worked at Clifford Chance (based out of Düsseldorf, Germany, and New York) and as in-house counsel at Pfizer, Inc. (New York).

マクシミリアン・レンツ

Maximilian Lentz

  • Associate
  • Frankfurt / Düsseldorf

Maximilian’s practice covers cross-border M&A transactions, set-up of cross-border Joint Ventures, and day-to-day commercial business activities of international corporations in Europe. He lived in Japan for more than two years including a one-year research fellowship at Kyoto University. Before joining Nishimura & Asahi, Maximilian worked at leading law firms in Germany focusing on legal advice to international clients especially from Japan, China and other Asian jurisdictions.
Leveraging his professional and intercultural experience, Maximilian is considerate of the client’s business culture and provides tailored solutions also by coordinating closely with legal counsel from other European jurisdictions, where necessary.