부산대학교 도서관

The Companies Act 1993 provides a process for incorporation of companies and then regulates those companies. 2023 marks thirty years since the inception of our current Act, meaning it has been in place for only half of the life of this journal. Aotearoa New Zealand had general incorporation prior to the current Act. The Companies Act 1993 is significant because we ceased to mirror English legislation; the prior Companies Act 1955 was almost a replica of the Companies Act 1948 (UK). But how independent are we really of our common law legislative forebears? The departures from the English common law may go only as far as drawing features from the North American statutes also based on the common law, even though these departures relate to an earlier version of corporations' law in place before the American Revolution. But is corporate law wholly derived from England and the United States wholly right for New Zealand? This article evaluates the New Zealand company and the application of the Companies Act 1993, asking whether both are fit for purpose in 21st-century Aotearoa New Zealand, a land of small and medium enterprises with a bicultural base and evident desire for more sustainable approaches to enterprise. Questions considered are whether our one-size-fits-all Act, with a key feature extreme ease of incorporation, best serves the needs and aspirations of our peoples and our piece of the planet. And, as a reimagining, what possibilities might be realised with the existing form? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]