DELAWARE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE LAW Tol. The associate judge was required to determine articles and conditions in the certificate of incorporation were lawful and not the community. If the associate judge made those determinations, then the judge would direct the certificate to be filed in the records of the Superior Court and order the prothonotary to publish in a newspaper for at least three weeks notice that application had been made to grant the certificate of incorporation. If no one appeared and objected and made no showing as to why the certificate should not be granted the associate judge was permitted, at the next term of the court, to direct that the certificate, with the judges endorsement thereon, be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and a copy, certified by the Secretary of State ecorded in the Recorder's office of the county in which the application had been made. Only upon county recordation did the corporate existence commence Today, of course, we do it differently. Anyone with a credit card can log onto the internet and through an incorporating service form a Delaware corporation with the click of a mouse Certainly the process has been simplified. I doubt anything has been oning the requirement that a judge determine at the outset that the content of the certificate of incorporation is lawful and not injurious to the community. And I feel comfortable saying that the judges of our Superior Court do not miss having to pass upon the legality of the provisions in certificates of incorporation. But I wonder how radical a change it must have seemed in 1899 to move away from that procedure? What contemporaneous fears and values, long since abandoned, found expression in those requirements of a century ago? We will face a similar inquiry in the immediate future. The Corporation Law Section has underway a comprehensive review of the Delaware General Corporation Law to determine how the law may be best modified to accommodate modern technology. We are sensitive to increasing demand from corporations for virtual stockholders meetings, for electronic communication of notices of meetings, proxies and other corporate documents, and similar changes to take advantage of cost reductions and accelerated communications made possible by the internet and similar innovations We must confront the impact of technology on communications and commerce in general, and the resultant impact on what business expects from our corporation laws. In the process, we must also re-examine some long-standing corporate principles that may stand in the way of change Ultimately, we must decide whether those principles have continued vitality d, if so, are they sufficiently important to the integrity of our corporation law that we must resist the pressure for change? Can Delaware resist such pressure and maintain its pre-eminence in corporate law?4 DELAWARE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE LAW [Vol. 25 The associate judge was required to determine that the objects, articles and conditions in the certificate of incorporation were lawful and not injurious to the community. If the associate judge made those determinations, then the judge would direct the certificate to be filed in the records of the Superior Court and order the Prothonotary to publish in a newspaper for at least three weeks notice that application had been made to grant the certificate of incorporation. If no one appeared and objected and made no showing as to why the certificate should not be granted, the associate judge was permitted, at the next term of the court, to direct that the certificate, with the judge’s endorsement thereon, be filed in the office of the Secretary of State and a copy, certified by the Secretary of State, recorded in the Recorder’s office of the county in which the application had been made. Only upon county recordation did the corporate existence commence. Today, of course, we do it differently. Anyone with a credit card can log onto the internet and through an incorporating service form a Delaware corporation with the click of a mouse. Certainly the process has been simplified. I doubt anything has been lost by abandoning the requirement that a judge determine at the outset that the content of the certificate of incorporation is lawful and not injurious to the community. And I feel comfortable saying that the judges of our Superior Court do not miss having to pass upon the legality of the provisions in certificates of incorporation. But I wonder how radical a change it must have seemed in 1899 to move away from that procedure? What contemporaneous fears and values, long since abandoned, found expression in those requirements of a century ago? We will face a similar inquiry in the immediate future. The Corporation Law Section has underway a comprehensive review of the Delaware General Corporation Law to determine how the law may be best modified to accommodate modern technology. We are sensitive to increasing demand from corporations for virtual stockholders’ meetings, for electronic communication of notices of meetings, proxies and other corporate documents, and similar changes to take advantage of cost reductions and accelerated communications made possible by the internet and similar innovations. We must confront the impact of technology on communications and commerce in general, and the resultant impact on what business expects from our corporation laws. In the process, we must also re-examine some long-standing corporate principles that may stand in the way of change. Ultimately, we must decide whether those principles have continued vitality and, if so, are they sufficiently important to the integrity of our corporation law that we must resist the pressure for change? Can Delaware resist such pressure and maintain its pre-eminence in corporate law?