Deze bijdrage biedt een introductie op het themanummer ‘actoren in het enquêterecht’ ter gelegenheid van het vijftigjarig bestaan van de Ondernemingskamer. Het nummer bevat bijdragen over raden, de raadsheer-commissaris, onderzoekers, tijdelijke bestuurders en commissarissen, tijdelijke beheerders van aandelen en belanghebbenden. Het nummer opent met een column van de voorzitter van de Ondernemingskamer en wordt afgesloten met een praktijkbijdrage van een OK-functionaris.

De auteurs benaderen het Voorontwerp van de ‘Wet overgang van onderneming in faillissement’ vanuit het werknemersperspectief. De auteurs zoeken naar en geven een antwoord op de vraag wat de werknemer heeft aan het Voorontwerp. Toepassing van het Voorontwerp op de Smallsteps-zaak leidt er volgens de auteurs toe dat de ontslagen Estro-werknemers slechter af zijn onder het Voorontwerp. De auteurs benoemen diverse (arbeidsrechtelijke) bezwaren die kleven aan het Voorontwerp en constateren dat het Voorontwerp op diverse plaatsen (mogelijk) in strijd is met Richtlijn 2001/23/EG. De auteurs geven een aantal aanbevelingen om het Voorontwerp vanuit het werknemersperspectief te verbeteren.

Like many other European countries the Netherlands experienced a major influx of refugees in the fall of 2015. A majority of the population supported providing shelter to the refugees, but not without worries and anxieties about the effects of that influx, which sometimes lead to limited, local forms of social unrest. A study was started to shed more light on the worries and fears that existed in the population, on the assumptions these were based upon and on whether these worries and fears could lead to social unrest on a larger scale. The study was explorative, based on an eclectic, multi methods approach. The findings show that worries and anxieties were not limited to those who were opposed to the influx of migrants, but existed among supporters as well. The worries and anxieties were of a diverse nature, on topics like security, livability, economics, perceived (in)justice and socio-cultural aspects of life. A clear, credible answer or policy from the government was missed. When compared to the findings of earlier studies on the influx of migrants, some worries and anxieties seemed closely connected to what might be expected, in other cases a distinct ‘disconnect’ was found. These could be understood however when distorting mechanisms were taken into consideration that have been described in studies of more general security perceptions. As the worries and anxieties on the influx of refugees resonated other existing worries, anxieties and fears in society, a ‘cocktail of concerns’ was created that, given the right trigger, could have led to social unrest on a larger scale.

De recentelijke invoering van bijzondere stemrechtaandelen wordt vergeleken met het bij DSM voorgestelde loyaliteitsdividend. Het loyaliteitsdividend werd midstream – door statutenwijziging bij een bestaande beurs-NV met zittende publieke aandeelhouders – voorgesteld. De bijzondere stemrechtaandelen zijn voorafgaand aan een beursgang (IPO) van een nieuwe (holding)vennootschap ingevoerd. Dit verschil werkt door in de positie van minderheidsaandeelhouders. Tegen deze achtergrond wordt ingegaan op de Eumedion-voorstellen voor regulering van bijzondere stemrechtaandelen.

Mediation is not very popular (yet) in the Dutch private sector. The author used his own network of business relations to investigate the motives not to choose mediation in solving business conflicts. Entrepreneurs and managers recognize mediation as a suitable method to solve personal conflicts like in family and community mediation. In business conflicts however, parties try not to get too personally involved and to keep feelings and emotions away from the negotiations. This investigation made clear that the timing of the conflict management process is a crucial factor in the unpopularity of mediation. The moment to choose a suitable method for dispute resolution is when the entrepreneur or manager failed to solve the dispute together with the other party. At this stage the competences of the mediator are competing with those of the entrepreneur/manager and therefore the choice for mediation is not very likely. This can only be changed by the introduction of dispute consultancy earlier in the process. Also the promotion of the traditional values and benefits of mediation does not seem to match the desires of most of the entrepreneurs and managers. Mediators might invest in pilots with companies to create opportunities for conflict consultancy and the introduction of a dispute analysis as early as possible in the process.

This essay analyses the shareholder role in corporate governance in terms of Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. The term 'exit' is embedded in a law & economics framework, while 'voice' relates to a corporate constitutional framework. The essay takes an eclectic approach and argues that, in order to understand the shareholder role in its full breadth and depth, the corporate law & economics framework can 'share the analytical stage' with a corporate constitutional framework. It is argued that Hirschman's concept of 'loyalty' is the connecting link between the corporate law & economics and corporate constitutional framework. Corporate law is perceived as a Janus head, as it is influenced by corporate law & economics as well as by corporate constitutional considerations. In the discussion on the shareholder role in public corporations, it is debated whether corporate law should facilitate loyalty-promoting instruments, such as loyalty dividend and loyalty warrants. In this essay, these instruments are analysed based on the eclectic approach. It is argued that loyalty dividend and warrants are law & economics instruments (i.e. financial incentives) based on corporate constitutional motives (i.e. promoting loyalty in order to change the exit/voice mix in favour of voice).

Recently the Dutch Mediation Institute (NMI) evaluated the Code of Conduct for mediators, which originally was issued in 2001. The NMI introduced a revised Code in 2011. ‘The mediator shall refrain from any judgments regarding the dispute.’ What will be the impact of this article for evaluative mediators, who want to be engaged both in the mediation process and the content of the dispute? This article seems to be based on the American approach of evaluative mediation. During the last decade Dutch mediators tend to mix various mediation styles to a specific personal blend. The author argues that the Dutch approach of evaluative mediation does not interfere with crucial demands in the Code like the impartiality of the mediator and the autonomy of decision of the parties involved.