Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation in Times of Transformation: Accountability, Sustainability, and Risk

Dear Colleagues,

1) Introduction

Corporate governance and financial regulation are undergoing significant transformation, driven by shifting economic conditions, technological innovation, and increasing societal expectations. From a legal perspective, these developments raise fundamental questions concerning the design, interpretation, and enforcement of corporate and financial law frameworks.

The legacy of global financial crises, the rise in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) obligations, and the increasing complexity of financial markets have prompted a re-evaluation of core legal concepts, including directors’ duties, fiduciary obligations, disclosure requirements, and regulatory oversight mechanisms. At the same time, emerging challenges, such as digital finance, climate-related financial risks, and enhanced expectations of corporate accountability, are placing pressure on existing legal and institutional architectures, both at the domestic and transnational levels.

These developments call for closer scrutiny of how legal frameworks governing corporate conduct and financial markets operate in practice, and whether they remain fit for purpose in ensuring accountability, transparency, and the effective mitigation of systemic risk. Against this backdrop, there is a clear need for rigorous legal scholarship that critically examines the evolution of corporate governance and financial regulation across jurisdictions.

2) Aim of the Special Issue

This Special Issue aims to provide a focused legal examination of the relationship between corporate governance and financial regulation. It seeks to explore how legal rules, doctrines, and regulatory frameworks shape corporate behaviour, structure market oversight, and address risks within financial systems.

Firmly situated within the scope of Laws, the Special Issue places particular emphasis on the legal dimensions of corporate governance structures and financial regulatory regimes, including the operation of supervisory frameworks, as well as the design and effectiveness of compliance, enforcement, and liability mechanisms. It further examines the interaction between public and private law approaches in shaping accountability and regulatory outcomes across corporate and financial systems.

Contributions are invited that engage with the doctrinal, comparative, and policy dimensions of law, including the interpretation and application of legislation, case law, and regulatory instruments. The Special Issue particularly welcomes work that critically assesses the effectiveness, coherence, and normative foundations of existing legal regimes.

By bringing together diverse legal perspectives and jurisdictions, this Special Issue aims to advance scholarly debate and contribute to the development of more robust and accountable legal frameworks in corporate governance and financial regulation.

3) Suggested Themes and Article Types

In this Special Issue, original research articles and review papers are welcome. Submissions should demonstrate a clear legal focus. Relevant themes may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The interaction between corporate law and financial regulation;
• Directors’ duties, fiduciary obligations, and governance accountability;
• ESG as a legal and regulatory framework (including disclosure and due diligence obligations);
• Board composition and diversity from a legal and regulatory perspective;
• Risk governance, internal controls, and legal compliance obligations in financial institutions;
• Legal responses to financial crises, including regulatory reform and systemic risk oversight;
• Corporate governance and regulation of fintech and digital financial services;
• Whistleblowing law, compliance systems, and enforcement mechanisms;
• The role and legal responsibilities of institutional investors and shareholder rights;
• Public versus private enforcement in corporate and financial law;
• Comparative legal approaches (e.g., EU, UK, US, and Latin America);
• Corporate liability, accountability, and long-term value creation in law;
• Regulatory and governance challenges in emerging legal systems.

We particularly encourage submissions that adopt comparative, doctrinal, and interdisciplinary legal approaches, as well as contributions that address underexplored jurisdictions or emerging legal developments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Stelios Andreadakis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Laws is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• corporate governance
• financial regulation
• ESG
• sustainability
• risk management
• board diversity
• regulatory enforcement
• compliance
• fintech
• comparative law