Piercing the Corporate Veil in the UK: The Never-Ending Mess

Abstract

Predictability and certainty are the distinctive features of English law as one of the leading choices to govern commercial contracts worldwide. Unfortunately, an area which cannot be praised for that is the ‘Doctrine of Piercing the Corporate Veil’. This doctrine and its yet unresolved issues have been threatening nothing less than two cornerstone principles for commerce and modern economy: the separate corporate personality and limited liability. After many frustrated attempts to cast light on this field, the UK Supreme Court justices in Petrodel Resources Ltd v. Prest tried once again to provide clarity by circumscribing the doctrine to excessive narrow limits. However, by ‘piercing’ that apparent veil of clarity and by analysing three subsequent rulings this article demonstrates that the confusion underlying the decision has indeed aggravated the mess, paving the way to the emergence of an ‘unnamed’ and ‘unrestricted’ doctrine now spread among conventional remedies.