Ireland - Corporate Law

Robust, timely reporting to the board underpins effective governance. Such reporting equips directors to decide with confidence, discharge oversight duties, and confirm that everyday activity remains aligned to the organisation’s strategy. With the board’s demanding mandate, finding the right balance between the volume and depth of information for directors versus that provided to the executive team is frequently difficult. Differentiating between board and executive information needs As outlined in the piece on defining the line between board and executive management, the board and executives work at distinct altitudes within the organisation. Executives are absorbed in operational delivery, whereas the board concentrates on long-term strategy, risk, and accountability. Accordingly, reporting cadence, style and substance ought to mirror these distinctions. Board of directors Frequency: Meeting cadence varies between organisations and needs, commonly monthly or quarterly. Level of detail: Strategic, succinct, and centred on outcomes and risk. Key...

Though a mature field of law, the regime on dawn raids has drawn fresh scrutiny after the General Court’s ruling in Michelin (Case T 263/23). That decision led to the partial annulment of a Commission inspection decision. This limited success sparked debate over the evidential and procedural thresholds the Commission must satisfy when carrying out surprise inspections lawfully. A subsequent ruling of the General Court in Red Bull (Case T 306/23) restates the breadth available to the Commission at the preliminary investigative phase as it seeks to identify material capable of underpinning its case regarding suspected breaches of competition rules. The scope of the Commission’s discretion The Commission enjoys a wide margin of discretion to authorise an unannounced inspection where there are reasonable grounds to suspect an infringement of competition rules. That discretion is firmly grounded in the legal framework of Regulation 1/2003 and in the...

American multinational technology and pharmaceutical companies operating in Ireland generate over 75% of Ireland’s corporation tax receipts, which in turn represent around a quarter of the nation’s tax income, according to a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Although businesses in these sectors have mostly escaped direct tariff rises under measures pursued by President Donald Trump, he has lately signalled that duties aimed at those industries are forthcoming......

This Practice Note provides an overview of the law, guidance and practice on executing simple contracts and deeds in Ireland. It sets out the principal distinctions between simple contracts and deeds and the formalities for execution. It also addresses counterparts and virtual closings, electronic signatures, powers of attorney, deed of variation, Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles (IVACs) and property transactions. Creating a contract A contract is a legally binding agreement conferring rights and imposing obligations between two or more parties. In essence, four core requirements must be met before a contract arises: an offer has been made that offer has been accepted valuable consideration is provided for performance of the contract the parties intend to be legally bound Contracts can be: oral written a mixture of oral and written by deed The general rule is that writing is not...

This resource kit This resource kit brings together the principal practical guidance available across Lexis+® UK on artificial intelligence (AI). Organised by practice area, it is refreshed as new material appears. The rapid growth of AI technologies has led lawmakers, businesses and the public to focus more closely on the potential advantages and the risks that accompany AI use. AI gives rise to a range of legal and regulatory considerations across numerous disciplines, including: intellectual property (IP) data protection and cybersecurity transactional work such as corporate and commercial employment healthcare and life sciences finance The UK government is developing an AI regulatory strategy that will determine how AI is governed here in future. In the EU, a legislative framework is being built to regulate AI, primarily via Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial...

The below tracks live European Commission merger investigations. For details on closed investigations, see EU phase I mergers—closed cases tracker and EU phase II mergers—closed cases tracker. For details of closed EU merger enforcement actions, see EU mergers enforcement actions—closed cases tracker. NOTE—completed merger investigations are removed from this document to the closed-case trackers within seven days of the final decision of the Commission. For details of appeals before the General Court, see the General Court appeals—ongoing cases tracker. For details of appeals before the Court of Justice, see Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker... ...

Execution clause-limited partnership (Ireland)-Deed (drafting notes) These sample execution clauses are designed for use by a limited partnership when entering into a deed (rather than a simple contract). Four alternative execution forms are provided for a deed executed by the following parties: an individual general partner signing in the presence of a witness a person signing at an individual general partner’s direction, in the presence of a witness who attests the signature an individual general partner who acknowledges their signature in the presence of a witness who attests the signature a corporate general partner executing the deed Limited partnership The Limited Partnership Act 1907 (Ireland) (LPA 1907 (IRL)) permits the establishment and creation of a partnership where some partners’ liability for the firm’s debts is limited, capped at the amount of their contribution. The General Scheme of the...

Counterparts A counterparts clause is a standard boilerplate provision that permits the parties to a contract to sign separate versions of the same agreement, rather than requiring every signatory to endorse one single document. Although there is no statutory footing for this in Ireland, executing agreements in counterparts is nonetheless common practice. This approach is especially useful where there are numerous parties, or where signatories are spread across different regions or countries and cannot arrange an in‑person completion meeting. If an agreement omits a counterparts clause, that omission may not, of itself, prevent the execution of a counterpart document. Even so, including such a clause is recommended to provide certainty and to forestall any suggestion that the agreement is not binding because it has not been executed correctly. It is also important to distinguish between original counterparts and original duplicates. If all parties sign several copies of the...

This Precedent provides the text of an ordinary resolution enabling the directors of a private company limited by shares to permit any existing or possible breach of the obligation to prevent conflicts of interest from arising......