Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. A208ZAL:"Page 359, line 2, at end insert ““in the manner specified by the company or as set out in its articles of association””" The noble Lord said: In moving this amendment, I shall speak also to Amendment No. A208ZAM. The purpose is to remove the requirement for companies to understand what is meant by,"““in accordance with normal commercial practice””." It is our view that it is unrealistic to expect some companies to know what is meant by that. If the reference is to remain, guidance will need to be issued to explain it, which will have to be updated as necessary. Authentication of electronic communication should also be consistent with the authentication procedures linked to electronic communication set out in Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000. The provision must also work where a person is using CREST. Where that is the case, a company may not be able to tell that a message is being sent by a third party on behalf of a member; for example, where a proxy voting service is being used. I beg to move.