This chapter provides an overview of the EU company law directives that have shaped corporate regulation across Member States. It examines the harmonization efforts undertaken through directives on company formation, capital maintenance, disclosure, mergers and divisions and shareholder rights. The chapter analyses the legal objectives behind these directives, their implementation challenges and their impact on legal certainty and cross-border corporate activity. It also discusses recent reforms and future directions in aligning national company laws with evolving EU policy goals.

This chapter explores the concept of secondary establishment as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) within the framework of Articles 49 and 54 TFEU. It examines how the CJEU distinguishes secondary establishments – branches or subsidiaries – from primary establishments, emphasizing their role in enabling companies to operate across Member States without full relocation. Key cases such as Inspire Art and Centros are analysed to highlight the legal boundaries and protections afforded to secondary establishments. The chapter also discusses the practical implications for cross-border corporate presence and the evolving dynamics of EU company law.

This chapter introduces the reader to the Rwanda saga, to the idea of a war being waged against the rule of law, and to the two law professors who have led the fight, John Finnis and Richard Ekins. The Introduction explains the book’s focus on rule-of-law debates about the Rwanda Act, which required that asylum seekers who arrive in the UK be deported to Rwanda, a country ruled by a regime notorious for its violations of human rights, to have their claims for refugee status processed. There they would remain even if their claims were rejected.

This chapter provides an overview of the legal framework and procedural requirements for establishing a new company within the European Union. It covers the harmonized rules under EU company law directives, including formation, registration and capital requirements. The chapter highlights the role of national laws and the impact of EU principles such as freedom of establishment and non-discrimination. Practical aspects like documentation, timelines and costs are discussed to assist businesses and legal practitioners. Emphasis is placed on the challenges and opportunities in cross-border company formation, reflecting the EU’s aim to facilitate entrepreneurship and economic integration.

This chapter examines the Constitution’s allocation of war powers, arguing that the President’s commander-in-chief authority permits only defensive actions or congressionally authorized military engagements, not unilateral offensive actions. Congress holds extensive war-related powers, including declaring war, raising armies, and regulating the military, while the President’s role is limited to directing forces in existing wars or repelling sudden attacks. The chapter introduces the concept of “imperfect war” and analyzes early military conflicts. It critiques modern executive claims, used to justify the Obama and Trump administrations’ Libya and Syria bombings, that the President can initiate military actions short of “war” in the “national interest,” finding no textual basis for such authority. It argues that unilateral acts risking war, like bombing foreign forces, encroach on Congress’s war powers under the law of nations. Rejecting functionalist expansions of presidential power, the chapter advocates a formalist, originalist approach, emphasizing that the President is not above the law. Such a framework ensures a restrained presidency, preserving Congress’s primacy in war-making and maintaining the Constitution’s separation of powers.

Contrary to many libertarian arguments, the Declaration does not manifest hostility to government. Many of its complaints are that the British had provided too little government, not too much. It also makes repeated arguments about how the king and parliament had violated the British constitution. The Declaration’s deepest commitment is to constitutional government and the rule of law. “Under Law” is a better description of the nation’s founding than the “Under God” that was later added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

This introduction outlines a comprehensive study of the U.S. Constitution’s structure, marking its 237th year as the oldest modern constitution. It aims to equip readers – from law students to everyday Americans – with tools to understand its framework of representation, separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and the Bill of Rights, addressing enduring questions like the legitimacy of secession, the scope of national powers, presidential authority in foreign affairs and war, judicial review’s origins, and Congress’s taxing and spending powers. The book challenges myths, such as the existence of a “general welfare clause,” and critiques both originalist and living constitutionalist views, arguing, for instance, that enumeration limited executive, not just national, power, and that functionalism fuels the imperial presidency. Organized into seven parts and eighteen chapters, the book explores the Constitution’s compound republic, the distribution of legislative, executive, and judicial powers, and federal-state dynamics. By engaging recent scholarship, it seeks to clarify the Constitution’s original design while advocating its continued relevance today.