2.1 Introduction

Before further research on independence is conducted in the remaining part of this study, a clear view of the concept or definition of the term is required. Therefore, this chapter addresses the research question about the definition of independence, with a focus on the composition/structure building block and the person building block of independence. The preconditions building block is described in the second part of this study on the legal approach. Section 2.2 starts with addressing the composition/structure building block of independence by giving an overview of the different board structures and board committees and their influence on independence.

Sections 2.3 and further address the person building block. First, section 2.3 gives an overview of independence in fact, in appearance and in form, because a supervisor who is considered to be independent might not be in reality. Subsequently, section 2.4 describes three general concepts of independence of supervisors: the disinterested outsider model, objective monitor model and the unaffiliated professional model. Due to the multitude of definitions of independence it is impossible to list all the definitions, but the description of the underlying concepts of independence enables a broad range of definitions to be covered. This chapter does not aim to compare lists of independence criteria, because this is done in the second part of this study. Finally, section 2.5 concludes.