Some aspects of reorganization of government-owned corporations

Abstract

The public corporation is used in all modern legal systems. It has been the used form for more than one century in the USA and Western Europe in wide range of different spheres. In Russia public corporations were established for achievement of public goals. However, during their existence the state corporations have generated a significant number of both theoretical and practical issues relating to their legal registration, status and activities. The outcome of this uncertainty was the need for a revised approach to the establishment and functioning of state corporations. The futility of their existence was emphasized at the highest level including the President of the country in 2009. So, it was concluded that it was necessary to terminate their activities. The corporations, the timeframes of which were determined by the law, required liquidation. The corporations working in the commercial, competitive environment were transformed into joint-stock companies controlled by the state. In foreign practice, state corporations are often initially created as a transitional form for private corporations and demonstrate their effectiveness and necessary assets. A joint-stock company as a form of transformation of the state corporation looks most attractive from the point of view of the transparency of its future activities. The specifics of the approach to the reorganization of public corporations is largely due to the essential peculiarity of the Russian model of such legal entities. Emphasis should be put on the problem of acquisition of non-core assets by such corporations, as well as curbing illegal practices for gaining competitive advantage in commodity markets.