The practical consequences of supporting binary or continuum theory on development of corporate law in the European Union and in Serbia

Abstract

The question of corporate law development, both in European Union and in Serbia, is above all the matter of choice between different legal instruments. Therefore, it is author's purpose regarding this paper to explain regulatory consequences that unfold from taking a stand for so-called binary theory, or on the other hand continuum theory. According to the binary theory the controversial subject od soft law is not attributed with the legal quality, which further results in its perceived non-significance, and no need for further promotion of its greater usage. Contrary to this, continuum law theory allows for soft law to be valued as a law category. This leads to the hybrid theory that highlites the importance of combining hard law and soft law acts. In the European Union the tradition of hybrid method usage is already established when it comes to corporate law, whilst in Serbia the need still exists to further promote the possibilities of such an approach. This is especially true regarding the urge to further harmonize national legal system with its European Union counterpart, and regarding the need to improve existing corporate practice.

Keywords

• corporate law
• binary theory
• continuum theory
• hybrid theory
• soft law
• corporate governance