Stamhuis, Jellienke --- "The Dutch Corporate Governance Code: Self-Regulation or Interactive Legislation?" [2005] ELECD 209; in Tully, Stephen (ed), "Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: Research Handbook on Corporate Legal Responsibility

Editor(s): Tully, Stephen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843768203

Section: Chapter 15

Section Title: The Dutch Corporate Governance Code: Self-Regulation or Interactive Legislation?

Author(s): Stamhuis, Jellienke

Number of pages: 15

Extract:

15 The Dutch Corporate Governance Code:
self-regulation or interactive legislation?
Jellienke Stamhuis1



Introduction
This chapter deals with the regulation of corporate governance in the
Netherlands, in particular, the Dutch Corporate Governance Code which was
introduced in December 2003. The code is more informally known as the
Tabaksblat Code, named after the chairman of the committee that designed it.
The Tabaksblat Code has been presented and is generally regarded in the
Netherlands as an example of self-regulation. This chapter will explore whether
that assumption is correct. It starts by formulating a definition of the concept of
self-regulation. It will then introduce and discuss the concept of interactive regu-
lation by way of comparison and contrast with that of self-regulation. This will
be followed by a history of the code and a short introduction to it. Finally, it will
be argued that it is more accurately conceptualised as an example of interactive
legislation and the implications of that conclusion will be considered.

What is self-regulation?

Top-down and bottom-up
In recent years the phenomenon of self-regulation has received considerable
attention. From the 1980s the concept can be located more frequently in all
types of legal literature. The quantity of legal provisions in which self-regula-
tion is either directly or indirectly referred to has also increased considerably.
Self-regulation can be employed for different aims and be studied from differ-
ent perspectives. These include a legal perspective (is it `law'?), an instru-
mental perspective (is ...