The tenet of minority investor protection is usually accepted to be in the form of ex post civil litigation in company and securities laws. However, in the UK, and possibly in much of the EU, the legal frameworks in ex post investor litigation in company and securities law exist as law in books rather than in action. This paper examines the 'confidence trick' maintained by the UK in providing for legal frameworks for ex post investor protection which are hardly used. It argues that investor confidence in the integrity of corporate governance and the securities markets is really maintained by inter alia the role of ex ante forms of shareholder participation in the corporate governance of publicly traded companies.
European Company Law