Test Exam (for the Final Exam) – Corporate Law 1. Company A is a flower distributor. They employ 40 people. Half of the employees work part-time, the part-timers are all over the age of 60. Company A rewards employees with a full-time employment contract with a performance-based bonus each year. Employees who work part-time don’t receive a (pro-rata) bonus, regardless of their performance. Some of the part-time employees approach you for advice, because they feel it is unfair that they don’t have the opportunity to receive a bonus, even if they perform exceptionally. In this jurisdiction it is not forbidden to apply different rules to employees because they have a part-time or full-time contract. Is there a legal ground for demanding a performance-based bonus for the part-time employees? a. The employees can claim from the employer that they are given the opportunity to obtain a bonus on the basis of indirect age discrimination, since the part-timers are all nearing their pensionable age. b. The employees have no chance in a legal proceeding since an employer is always allowed to treat full- and part-time employees differently, no matter the reason. c. The employees can claim that they should receive the bonus on the basis of positive discrimination. d. The employees can claim compensation from the employer on the basis of breach of contract. 2. In the U.S.A. a product should be able to do as is specified by the manufacturer. This is called the: a. Strict liability theory. b. Negligence theory. c. Breach of warranty theory. d. Risk-utility test / reasonable expectation. 3. Which of the next statements is most true? a. In intentional torts, someone is not aware of his culpability b. In intentional torts, the law regulates who is liable for what damages regardless the element of culpability. c. In intentional torts, someone intentionally injures someone or damages property. d. In intentional torts, there is usually a case of negligence. 4. An in Germany based and operating retailer wants to send its customers weekly advertisements through e-mail. In order to do so, it uses the e-mail addresses of customers that were collected in the past in order to send them their online purchases. The (ex-)customers however, never explicitly consented to be part of such an e-mail list. What legal ground for this form of data processing (under the GDPR) will the company most likely appeal to? a. The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. b. The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract. c. The processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interest by the controller. d. The controller can re-use ‘consent’ as a legal ground as the customers gave their consent in the past albeit for a different processing purpose. 5. In common law systems, the solution for breach of contract is mostly focused on: a. b. c. d. Enforcing the promised performance. Personal motives or incapability. Damage compensation. The written notice of the breach of contract. 6. The industrial revolution has made labour law necessary. Which of the following statements explains this in the best way? a. Because of the Industrial Revolution a growing number of people could get jobs, so the demand for work was higher than the supply. b. For most employees the Industrial Revolution meant voluntarily work at a salary that could be bargained, so labour law was the core of the agreement in and around 1760. c. Because of the Industrial Revolution, an increase of creativity, ideas and scientific progress occurred, so the intellectual property rights of the employees had to be secured in labour law. d. The Industrial Revolution caused people to lose their jobs since machines took over, creating an income gap between company owners and the workforce, so the social question and the labour question was raised. 7. Which statement is correct? a. Oral contracts are not legally binding. b. In principle oral contracts have the same legal weight as written contracts. c. ‘Freedom of contract’ means that contracting parties are always completely free to choose their form of contract. d. Contracting parties should use oral contracts when possible and only use written contracts if needed 9. On what grounds may Member States restrict rights of free movement? a. b. c. d. Economic grounds. Environmental grounds. Public policy, public security or public health. Educational grounds. 10. Original Treaty provisions granted free movement rights to 'economically active' persons. Which groups does this term include? a. Students. b. Workers' families. c. Workers and the self-employed. d. Unemployed persons. 11. Phil and Trudy want to do business in selling pottery made by people that do want to work, but who have a hard time finding and keeping a job. Phil and Trudy do want to pay the creators immediately after purchasing their pottery works, before having sold the products themselves, to improve the creators’ situation. In minimizing their financial risk, what legal form is not recommended for the pottery business of Phil and Trudy? a. a general partnership b. a limited partnership c. a private limited company d. a company limited by guarantee 12. Which of below statements related to the sole proprietorship is correct? a. it is quite easy to set up the business since there are hardly any formalities involved b. all income earned by the business is considered corporation tax and dealt with accordingly c. if the owner is married to partner X in full patrimony the property of partner X can not be used to settle business debts d. the business is considered to be a separate legal entity 13. What is the duration of copyright protection in Europe? A. B. C. D. 70 years after the first publication As long as the author lives As long as the author lives, and for another 70 years after his death 70 years after registration of the copyright 14. Private international law is the branch of law which, in an international situation, will determine: A. What court has jurisdiction on the matter B. What law should be applied by this court C. How can the verdict of the court can be executed D. A, B and C 15. Company X is active in the legal market in Norway. They have 100 employees, of which 65% is female. Women fulfil most of the higher positions and the board consists of 75% women. In Norway a women quota has been implemented, meaning that the company has to make every effort to reach a representation of 40% of women on the board. The term of office for the board members of company X is coming to an end, and new elections will be held to select new board members. The company is happy to have reached this quota, and wants to keep promoting women in top positions. To this end they have hired a recruiting company to specifically approach women for the position of board member. Men are not excluded from the hiring process, but they have to make more effort, as the recruiting company will not approach them. Y (male) is interested in a position as a board member. He feels it is unfair that women are being more actively approached, because this implies that female representation on the board is more important than selecting a competent board. Y states that men are being discriminated against, because women are given an advantage. Is Y right? a. Yes, this is indirect discrimination of men, which is never allowed. b. No, this is positive discrimination of women, which is allowed because they are an underrepresented group in the company. c. Yes, if women are underrepresented, positive discrimination may be applied. However, in this case the women are already well represented in the board, and are therefore not a disadvantaged group in need of advantages. d. No, women are not underrepresented in this case, but if there is a women quota the company may keep advantaging women. 17. What is a special data type? a. b. c. d. Name Sexual orientation Age Hair colour 18. What is the main reason why an Italian family company, a private limited company, with principal market in Italy will not start up a Societas Europaea? a. because the principal market is in Italy b. because of the minimum capital of € 120.000,00 c. because it is an Italian company d. because it is a private limited company 19. Is your partner liable for the company’s debt if you have a sole proprietorship and you are married in full patrimony? a. yes, personally liable for the full company’s debt. b. yes, personal liable for 50% of the company’s debt. c. no, only the owner of the company is liable. d. yes, only if the owner can’t afford to pay company’s debt. 20. What is not a condition for a contract to have legal consequences? a. an agreement between two (of more) parties. b. a contract is written c. parties promise to do something in exchange for something in return d. a contract should be determinable 21. Company E produces furniture in Ireland (a common law jurisdiction). F and G both work for the company. F is a financial advisor who is often consulted, but doesn’t have regular working hours. G is a marketing specialist, working 40 hours a week for the company. F and G have a discussion regarding their labour relation with the company. According to F they are both employees, as they are both given directions by the company in performing their work. G disagrees; he thinks he is the only one of the two with employee status, as he forms an integral part of the organizations, whereas F does not form an integral part of the organization. What are F and G referring to? a. They are referring to the economic reality test, which is used to determine if someone is an employee with a contract of service, or self-employed with a contract for service. b. F is referring to the control test, used to assess if there is a hierarchical relation between the worker and the company. G is referring to the integration test, which determines if a worker forms an integral part of the organization of the company. c. They are referring to the difference between an employee-like person and a selfemployed person. d. F and G are both referring to irrelevant factors for assessing a labour relation. The only relevant factor here would be to assess who bears the financial risk of the labour.
