The Law Governing Multinational Holding Company Disputes (Comparative Study)

A holding company is a type of capital company, established by Law No. (17) of 2019, which is the new amendment to the Iraqi Commercial Companies Law No. (21) of 1997. This amendment aims to support the national economy and achieve the national interest, in line with the development of regional and international legislation that preceded us in this field. The first appearance of this type of company was in the late nineteenth century in Europe and the United States of America. It is a joint-stock or limited company, or a limited liability company in some legislations, that controls a company or a group of joint-stock or limited companies called (subsidiary companies). This company can achieve this control by owning a majority of the shares in the capital of the subsidiary companies. Some laws have indicated that the holding company must own at least (51%) of the capital of the subsidiary company. These laws also allow this company to achieve control over the subsidiary companies through agreement with the rest of the shareholders, and accordingly it enjoys actual control, according to the law of its establishment, over the management of its boards, despite the lack of a clear concept of this control by the regulating legislation. A holding company in one country may control subsidiaries operating in other countries.