This book deals with the Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Statute for a European Private Company (Societas Privata Europaea, SPE) as put forward by the European Commission in the summer of 2008. It adds to the comments already made in the legal literature by dealing with key aspects of the SPE Proposal in an extensive way and by including, where relevant, the amendments adopted by the European Parliament in March 2009. The contributors to the book are professional and academic specialists within the Ius Commune network (www.iuscommune.eu). They analyse the need for the SPE, the role of private international law, the main issues related to the formation of the SPE and to its shares, the expulsion and withdrawal of shareholders, the provisions concerning the capital of the SPE, the internal organisation, the ‘voice’ rights of shareholders, the duties and liabilities of the SPE’s directors, the issue of employee participation, the transfer of the registered office of the SPE and corporate restructuring mechanisms like transformations, mergers and divisions. The book aims to contribute to the debate on the characteristics of the SPE and to how this legal form can best be implemented within the context of national law. The latter is illustrated by including a Dutch perspective of the various issues dealt with. The practical approach by the authors of the various topics addressed in the book makes it useful for practitioners as well as academics.