Different countries frame the exact description of the role of directors of a company in different terms. One feature is common to all – the obligation not to continue trading if a company is insolvent. Again, the detailed implications of doing so vary from one jurisdiction to another. However, this obligation not to continue wrongful trading is at the heart of trust in a market-based economic system. The COVID-19 pandemic put this fundamental obligation under severe strain.
How directors exercise their duties is one key factor in determining how strong and fast the economic recovery will be from COVID-19, and how companies can and should respond to the new challenges we are now seeing. This set of short guides gives pointers to how directors should think about their duties in key European countries.
