Corporate law (also "company" or "corporations" law) is the study of how
shareholders,
directors,
employees,
creditors, and other stakeholders such as
consumers, the
community and the
environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader
companies law (or law of business associations). Other types of business associations can include
partnerships (in the UK governed by the Partnership Act 1890), or
trusts (like a pension fund), or companies limited by guarantee (like some community organizations or charities). Under corporate law, corporations of all sizes have
separate legal personality, with
limited or
unlimited liability for its shareholders. Shareholders control the company through a
board of directors which, in turn, typically delegates control of the corporation's day-to-day operations to a full-time
executive. Corporate law deals with firms that are incorporated or registered under the corporate or company law of a
sovereign state or their
subnational states. The four defining characteristics of the modern corporation are: