Shareholders throughout the world are becoming more assertive in the establishment of their rights against companies and directors. As a result, the law is developing throughout Europe and North America to make it easier for shareholders to assert their rights by bringing claims in front of the court. Recent cases have seen both institutional shareholders (such as pension funds) and groups of individual shareholders start to take action. This book provides practical guidance on the statutory derivative claims introduced under the UK's Companies Act 2006, and, in addition, sets out the equivalent procedure in other jurisdictions. It is suitable for both shareholders taking action and companies defending themselves. The book addresses the various class action procedures for bringing shareholder claims. Increasingly, shareholder litigation cases have had a multi-jurisdictional aspect to them. Shareholder Claims looks in detail at each jurisdiction's approach, including examination of recent case-law and legislation, and ensures awareness of the different procedures in each area. It allows any lawyer who advises a group of shareholders to assess which jurisdiction's procedure would be more favorable to the shareholders. Accordingly, it will also assist companies who must be able to defend themselves against such actions in any jurisdiction. The jurisdictions included here are: the US * Canada * the UK * France * Germany * Switzerland * Austria * Sweden * Ireland * Japan * Australia * Guernsey * Isle of Man * Caribbean offshore jurisdictions (Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and British Virgin Islands).