David Chan Smith, Wilfrid Laurier University, has posted The Beginning of History for Corporate Law: Corporate Government, Social Purpose and the Case of Sutton’s Hospital (1612), which is forthcoming in the Seattle University Law Review:
This paper explores the history of corporate law through theCase of Sutton's Hospital. The case is among the oldest still-cited cases in Anglo-American corporate law and contains the oft-quoted definition that a corporation is “… invisible, immortal, and rests only in intendment of law." The article uses new sources to investigate the case to suggest how the history of corporate law can be rewritten, and explains the linkages between corporations and social purpose during the period of special incorporation. By doing so, the article highlights the importance of cultural and religious contexts to early Anglo-American corporate law and urges the crucial importance of 19th century fission, or the split of corporations into for- and non-profit entities.
Charterhouse. Stuart Taylor (cc)
--Dan Ernst
