In the light of the financial crisis, it has become clear that the globalisation of financial markets has not been matched by the globalisation of legal certainty relating to financial transactions. The ability to give security influences not only the cost of credit but also, in some cases, whether credit will be available at all. Increasing the availability and lowering the cost of credit can make an important contribution to international and domestic economic development. Assessing the international challenges posed by inefficient secured credit laws, this book explores how these can be overcome to facilitate credit through legal reforms. Leading authorities in the field address the key issues surrounding the availability of credit, the role of banks in economic development and financial crises, UNCITRAL's legislative efforts, and international organisations and financial institutions and their involvement in the reform of secured transactions law.

Financial regulation has entered into a new era, as many foundational economic theories and policies supporting the existing infrastructure have been and are being questioned following the financial crisis. Goodhart et al s seminal monograph "Financial Regulation: Why, How and Where Now?" (Routledge:1998) took stock of the extent of financial innovation and the maturity of the financial services industry at that time, and mapped out a new regulatory roadmap. This book offers a timely exploration of the "Why, How and Where Now" of financial regulation in the aftermath of the crisis in order to map out the future trajectory of financial regulation in an age where financial stability is being emphasised as a key regulatory objective.

The book is split into four sections: the objectives and regulatory landscape of financial regulation; the regulatory regime for investor protection; the regulatory regime for financial institutional safety and soundness; and macro-prudential regulation. The discussion ranges from theoretical and policy perspectives to comprehensive and critical consideration of financial regulation in the specifics. The focus of the book is on the substantive regulation of the UK and the EU, as critical examination is made of the unravelling and the future of financial regulation with comparative insights offered where relevant especially from the US. Running throughout the book is consideration of the relationship between financial regulation, financial stability and the responsibility of various actors in governance.

This book offers an important contribution to continuing reflections on the role of financial regulation, market discipline and corporate responsibility in the financial sector, and upon the roles of regulatory authorities, markets and firms in ensuring the financial health and security of all in the future.

This book offers an interdisciplinary overview of the role of law in modern capitalism in the context of financial crisis. In this work, the reader will find a discussion of key issues relevant to the crisis that have occupied the pages of the financial press since 2007 including an assessment of the meltdown of the sub-prime mortgage market, the credit crunch, the European debt crisis and the turmoil in Greece, plus a series of theoretical contributions that are aimed to challenge perceptions of the market-state relationship and the place of law within it. The book includes a methodological defence of the state-market dichotomy, a critique of the tenets of neoclassical economics, and an evaluation of what the financial crisis heralds for the future of the political economy of western democracies. Ioannis Glinavos argues that it is a mistake to associate markets with freedom and states with oppression, and suggests that more choice for consumers can -and does- mean less choice for citizens. The book suggests that a new social contract is needed to ensure the survival of both capitalism and democracy. In contributing a unique, legal perspective to the underlying dynamics of the financial crisis, this book will be valuable to scholars and students of regulation, financial markets and economic development.

It is often argued that international financial regulation has been substantially strengthened over the past decades through the international harmonization of financial regulation. There are, however, still frequent outbreaks of painful financial crises, including the recent 2008 global financial crisis. This raises doubts about the conventional claims of the strengthening of international financial regulation. This book provides an in-depth political economy study of the adoptions in Japan, Korea and Taiwan of the 1988 Basel Capital Accord, the now so-called Basel I, which has been at the center of international banking regulation over the past three decades, highlighting the domestic politics surrounding it. The book illustrates that, despite banks' formal compliance with the Accord in these countries, their compliance was often cosmetic due to extensive regulatory forbearance that allowed their real capital soundness to weaken. Domestic politics thus ultimately determined national implementations of the Accord. This book provides its novel innovative study of the Accord through scores of interviews with bank regulators and analysis of various primary documents. It suggests that the actual effectiveness of international financial regulation relies ultimately on the domestic politics surrounding it. It implies as well that the past trend of international harmonization of financial regulation may be illusory, to at least some extent, in terms of its actual effectiveness. This book may interest not only political economists but also scholars working on the intersection of law, economics and institutions.

This book provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of the main topics of taxation in European law. The sequence of arguments follows an institutional logic, respecting the academic tradition of tax law. It first outlines the general framework of EU institutions, with a particular focus on the set of regulations regarding taxation with reference to the stage of formation of EU rules and the potential contrast with national legal systems. It then explores the general principles emerging from the European treaties that typically involve the taxation system, and examines in detail the fiscal importance of European freedoms, the principle of tax non-discrimination, the balance between national interest and EU values, tax harmonization, state aids and other general principles applicable in tax jurisdiction. Lastly, it offers an overall assessment of the development of the European integration process, with particular regard to the nexus between taxation power and sovereignty, in order to highlight the possible and desirable next stages of the evolution of "European tax law".

This stimulating and original Handbook offers an updated and systematic discussion of the relationship between central banks, financial regulation and supervision after the global financial crisis. The crisis has raised new questions about the compatibility of monetary and financial stability, which are changing the face of central banking and its relationships with the architecture of financial regulation and supervision. The Handbook explores on both the economics and political economy of the topic, in order to understand how and why reforms of the role of the central banks can be designed and implemented. The general suggestion is that future effectiveness of the central banking architecture will depend on its ability to ensure the consistency between the monetary actions in normal and extraordinary times. Consequently the possible paths in the central bank strategies and tactics, as well as in the classic concepts of independence, accountability and transparency, are analyzed and discussed. With chapters written by outstanding scholars in economics, this lucid Handbook will appeal to academics, policy makers and practitioners, ranging from central bankers and supervisory authorities to financial operators. Among the academics it would be of particular interest to financial and monetary economists (including postgraduate students), but the institutional slant and the central theme of relations between economics, institutional settings and politics will also be invaluable for political scientists. Contributors: F. Amtenbrink, J. Baxa, B. Born, P.C. Boyer, G. Caprio, M. Cihak, A. Cukierman, L. Dalla Pellegrina, J. De Haan, M. Ehrmann, B. Eichengreen, S. Eijffinger, Y. Fang, M. Fratzscher, F. Giavazzi, A. Giovannini, C.A.E. Goodhart, I. Hasan, R. Horvath, D. Masciandaro, L.J. Mester, M.J. Nieto, R. Nijskens, A. Orphanides, J. Ponce, M. Quintyn, M. Rezende, P.L. Siklos, A. Tieman, B. Vasicek, R. Vega Pansini

The 2007 to 2009 financial crisis resulted in the re-emergence of the debate on financial regulation and its relationships with other macroeconomic policies, particularly monetary policy. In Europe, the financial crisis was followed by the sovereign debt crisis, as the bail-out of the financial sector put strains on public finances in several countries. The sequence of events called for a strengthening of the union, ranging from a common framework for supervisory policy that could minimize the risk of unforeseen bank or country defaults to a common resolution mechanism that could set equal rules across countries and reduce ex-ante mis-incentives to risk-taking and moral hazard. This analysis of the state of and prospects for financial regulation examines the lending and saving behavior of banks and households as well as their borrowing activities in order to understand the conflicting priorities and complicated decisions involved in the development and implementation of financial legislation.

Offering a comparative case study of transitional justice processes in Afghanistan and Nepal, this book critically evaluates the way the "local" is consulted in post-conflict efforts toward peace and reconciliation. It argues that there is a tendency in transitional justice efforts to contain the discussion of the "local" within religious and cultural parameters, thus engaging only with a "static local," as interpreted by certain local stakeholders. Based on data collected through interviews and participant observation carried out in the civil societies of the respective countries, this book brings attention to a "dynamic local," where societal norms evolve, and realities on the ground are shaped by shifting power dynamics, local hierarchies, and inequalities between actors. It suggests that the "local" must be understood as an inter-subjective concept, the meaning of which is not only an evolving and moving target, but also dependent on who is consulted to interpret it to external actors. This timely book engages with the divergent range of civil society voices and offers ways to move forward by including their concerns in the efforts to help impoverished war-torn societies transition from a state of war to the conditions of peace.

This book is about fiduciary law's influence on the financial economy's environmental performance, focusing on how the law affects responsible investing and considering possible legal reforms to shift financial markets closer towards sustainability. Fiduciary law governs how trustees, fund managers or other custodians administer the investment portfolios owned by beneficiaries. Written for a diverse audience, not just legal scholars, the book examines in a multi-jurisdictional context an array of philosophical, institutional and economic issues that have shaped the movement for responsible investing and its legal framework. Fiduciary law has acquired greater influence in the financial economy in tandem with the extraordinary recent growth of institutional funds such as pension plans and insurance company portfolios. While the fiduciary prejudice against responsible investing has somewhat waned in recent years, owing mainly to reinterpretations of fiduciary and trust law, significant barriers remain. This book advances the notion of 'nature's trust' to metaphorically signal how fiduciary responsibility should accommodate society's dependence on long-term environmental well-being. Financial institutions, managing vast investment portfolios on behalf of millions of beneficiaries, should manage those investments with regard to the broader social interest in sustaining ecological health. Even for their own financial self-interest, investors over the long-term should benefit from maintaining nature's capital. We should expect everyone to act in nature's trust, from individual funds to market regulators. The ancient public trust doctrine could be refashioned for stimulating this change, and sovereign wealth funds should take the lead in pioneering best practices for environmentally responsible investing.

This indispensible book offers step-by-step guidance to small and mid-sized companies and non-profit organizations in managing corruption risks in overseas markets. It covers how and why to build a culture of integrity, develop a risk-based anti-corruption compliance programme, and engage with other industry players in collective action against shared corruption challenges. The focus on culture, compliance and collective action helps resource-stretched companies to build a strong foundation for a healthy and flourishing organization, as well as contribute towards raising standards of integrity across their industry. Key features include: Guidance for creating and contributing to collective action Quick definitions, tips and practical tools such as checklists A hands-on approach with an emphasis on culture and leadership Case studies and real-life examples of both corruption risks and the importance of a strong compliance culture. Anti-Corruption Compliance will be an invaluable resource for senior managers of small and mid-sized organizations in minimizing exposure to corruption risks in international markets. It will also prove useful to corporate lawyers and others involved with compliance functions in larger companies, as well as to academics and students of corporate law with an interest in anti-corruption and compliance.

The main aim of this book is to assess the importance of international rules for foreign direct investment and the major challenges to international harmonization of those rules. Particular attention is paid to the most controversial and contentious issues with the view of appraising the prospects for establishing global rules. The book is divided into three parts; the first part includes papers assessing the role of national and international legislation with further distinction being made between bilateral, regional and multilateral legal frameworks. The second part addresses regulatory issues of technology transfer, labor, environment, subsidies and investment incentives, national security, public services and sovereign wealth funds. The final part looks at the experience of some international fora in addressing these issues and at some theoretical and conceptual problems of rule harmonization. The papers have been written by legal and economic scholars from leading universities.

Regulatory competition within Europe and internationally, operates in several fields with different outcomes. This book offers a comparative legal and economic analysis of corporate, securities and competition law, exploring the reasons behind such differences. The book's conceptual framework covers the most relevant drivers of competition, including legal actors' incentives, channels of competition and governance design. It shows how the different drivers and institutional designs are shaping competitive interactions, drawing relevant conclusions for both general and field specific regulatory policy. Providing a comparative analysis of regulatory competition in three legal fields, this book will be a valuable resource for researchers and academics in law, economics and political science, as well as policymakers - legislator, regulator, judiciary - at both national and European levels. Contents: Foreword Preface 1. Regulatory Competition: What it is and What Remains to be Explored 2. Regulatory Competition in European Company Law 3. Regulatory Competition in European Securities Law 4. Regulatory Competition in EU Competition Law 5. Regulatory Competition in the Internal Market Bibliography Index

This book examines the prospects for business law reform to drive economic development in developing countries. It argues that, despite statements to the contrary, cultural factors and other local conditions in developing countries are not properly taken into account in current business law reform programs. Utilizing the city of Dakar as an example, this book investigates the consequences of this lack of fit between local needs and transplanted legal models by examining the potential and actual impact of the OHADA program of law reform on local business practices. Focusing on how managers make decisions and apply appropriate norms in routine business operations, the book documents how contractual disputes arise and are solved in Dakar and the role played by formal law in these processes. By examining imported law from the point of view of the end-users of legal reforms, the book reveals the complex relationship between formal law, local cultural norms and the activities of SMEs operating in developing economies, and calls for a reconsideration of current law and development theory as well as the role of contract law in business decisions. It will be relevant to all developing countries seeking to align their laws with 'best practice' as identified by aid institutions.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of European Union (EU) central banking law, a field of EU economic law which emerged in the late 1990s and has developed rapidly ever since. European central banking law pertains to the rules governing the functions, operation, tasks and powers of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of EU Member States. Systematically presenting and analysing the role of the ECB as a monetary and banking supervisory authority, the book discusses its changing and developing responsibilities following the financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the ongoing fiscal crisis in the euro area. The book also highlights the ECB's significant role in relation to the resolution of credit institutions, as well as, conversely, its relatively limited role in respect of last-resort lending to EU credit institutions exposed to liquidity risk. The related tasks and powers of the ECB are presented in light of its interaction with NCBs within the Eurosystem, the European System of Financial Supervision, the Single Supervisory System and the Single Resolution Mechanism. Providing a detailed analysis of the legal framework governing (mainly) the ECB's monetary policy and other basic tasks within the Eurosystem and its specific tasks in relation to banking supervision and macro-prudential financial oversight, this comprehensive book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and students in the fields of EU monetary and banking law.

This book brings together the issues surrounding banking secrecy and confiscation of criminal proceeds. The book examines the existing legal agreements at the international, regional and national levels and their interaction in the substantive areas of confiscation, anti-money laundering and banking confidentiality laws. It looks at how these agreements have been applied in offshore financial centers and demonstrates that despite a number of legally binding UN Conventions as well as global anti-money laundering recommendations, the implementation of them is often lukewarm by those Parties who have ratified the Convention and adopted obligations, because of this the confiscation legislation is incompatible with strict banking confidentiality laws. The work draws on the experience of criminologists to offer critical insight into the legislative frameworks designed to deal with banking secrecy and confiscation in offshore financial centers. It goes on to offer suggestions for measures that may be taken by major economies to circumvent the lack of cooperation by offshore financial centers as intolerance towards money laundering grows in light of recent political and economic events. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars of Law, Finance and Criminology.

Increasing international investment, the proliferation of international investment agreements, domestic legislation and investor-state contracts have contributed to the development of a new field of international law that defines obligations between host states and foreign investors with investor-state dispute settlements. This involves not only vast sums, but also a panoply of rights, duties and shifting objectives at the juncture of national and international law and policy. This engaging Research Handbook provides an authoritative account of these diverse investment law issues. Written by international experts in the field, the contributions provide economic, political and legal perspectives to cover all aspects of international and national investment law. With regional perspectives from Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and Latin and North America, this Research Handbook offers an analytical overview of the key areas of current research interest and developments in investment law. Vitally, the expert contributors outline future and upcoming issues, as well as providing a research agenda for the topic. This Research Handbook will be an excellent resource for researchers in academic institutions, governments and non-governmental organisations, as well as for practitioners including government officials, negotiators and practicing lawyers. Contributors: I. Alvik, D. Atanasova, J. Baumgartner, C. Binder, D.N. Dagbanja, S.B. Danzman, E. De Brabandere, A. De Luca, A. Dimopoulos, K.F. Gomez, K. Gulay, A.R. Hippolyte, R.T. Hoffmann, L. Hsu, M. Jacobson, P. Janig, L. Johnson, M. Krajewski, K. Magraw, A. Mitchell, M. Molinuevo, P.M. Protopsaltis, S. Robert-Cuendet, G. Sacerdoti, L. Sandor, S. Schacherer, S.W. Schill, C. Titi, E. Tuerk

In the wake of the global financial crisis, there has been a worldwide search for alternative investment opportunities, away from advanced markets. The African continent is now one of the fastest-growing economic regions in the world and represents a viable destination for foreign direct and portfolio investment. This book, which is the first comprehensive analysis of financial integration and regulation in Africa, fills a huge gap in the literature on financial regulation and would constitute an invaluable source of information to policy makers, investors, researchers and students of financial regulation from an emerging and frontier markets perspective. It considers how financial integration can facilitate African financial markets to achieve their full potential and provides a comparative study with the EU framework for financial integration and regulation. It assesses the implementation of effective and regional domestic infrastructures and how these can be adapted to suit the African context. The book also provides an assessment of government policies towards the integration of financial regulation in keeping with the regional agenda of the African Union (AU) and the African Economic Community (AEC).

The first and only concise introduction to American business insolvency law, this volume provides a succinct overview of American business bankruptcy as it is actually practiced, integrating the law as written and implemented. American Business Bankruptcy includes coverage of specialized proceedings like brokerage liquidations, pre-packaged chapter 11 cases, and 363 sales. Professor Lubben also reviews the transnational aspects of modern American bankruptcy practice, and explains chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, which allows for foreign insolvency proceedings to be ''recognized'' in U.S. courts. U.S law students and junior attorneys, international insolvency professionals, and non-legal professionals, including bankers and accountants, will appreciate this practical synthesis, which includes citations and guidance for further research.

Historic preservation is an issue of growing importance and public commitment. Federal and state mechanisms have been established to identify and support historic buildings/sites, while local governments have been active in supporting and protecting historic resources. Communities across the country have established designation programs whereby individual buildings or districts of historical-architectural significance are accorded landmark status.

Designation activity has been accompanied by growing interest in other local incentives/disincentives to the support of historic buildings. In this regard, the property tax is viewed as either a possible powerful drawback to or a catalyst of preservation. This study examines the relationship between historic preservation and the property tax, focusing on the question of how designated buildings should be assessed for real taxation purposes.

Listokin focuses on New York City in considering the effects of historic status on property value and in evaluating assessment practices. But this book's findings are transferrable to other communities because the base conditions are similar. Many other cities have designation programs modeled on New York City's. In addition, New York's property-tax system and administrative processes resemble those found in communities across the nation. To enhance the transferability of this study's findings, Listokin refers to the national experience and literature, typically on a side-by-side basis with the New York City counterpart.

The book examines the regulation of insider dealing in the developed jurisdictions, using three of the G7 countries as guides with the aim of knowing how they have regulated insider trading and what lessons can be learnt from their failures and achievements. It looks at regulatory regimes in the US, the UK and Japan in order to consider whether these regimes can be successfully transplanted to developing countries. In order to explore insider dealing in the developing world the book focuses on Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and second largest economy. This book examines in theoretical and empirical terms the law on insider trading away from the dogmatic approach of Western literature by presenting the subject from the prism of a developing jurisdiction in post-colonial Africa with a divergent cultural, historical, social, political and economic background. The author analyses what shape insider dealing takes in Nigeria, a predominantly illiterate society, and considers the groups involved. The books also explores how the concept of insider dealing regulation is understood amongst parties integral to its administration and enforcement such as lawyers, judges, stockbrokers, and ordinary investors. The legislation governing insider dealing regulation in Nigeria is critically examined to expose its strengths and weaknesses, and to see how foreign provisions and legislation have been incorporated. The book uses Nigerian experiences to consider its implications for other developing nations, arguing that regulatory regimes need to take into account the specific social, political, historical and economic factors of a particular locale rather than importing regulations wholesale from developed jurisdictions.

Consumer credit information systems are the tools used by the majority of lenders to manage credit risk, with lenders accessing credit reference databases managed by third party providers to evaluate a consumer's credit application. So far, the subject of consumer credit reporting has been left to the predominant attention of the economic and business management scholarship and little or no consideration has been paid by lawyers. This book aims to rectify this by examining the legal framework and compliance in the European Community (EC) of such consumer information sharing arrangements which have become increasingly integrated in the credit granting practices of the Member States. The book looks at the laws which surround and affect consumer credit reporting, including bank secrecy obligations. Consumer credit reporting and its relationship to human rights is also explored, as every individual is in the EC is entitled to informational privacy. The book asks questions such as to what extent should the privacy of consumers be balanced against the aims and functions of consumer credit reporting, and how do the financial information sharing arrangements comply with the positive law, particularly the European data protection legislation?

This work contains the full text of the papers presented at the fourth Tax Law History Conference in July 2008. The Conference was organised by the Cambridge Law Faculty's Centre for Tax Law. The matters discussed are broad and include the extent to which charges levied by the Court of Wards were seen as taxes, the seventeenth century poll tax, traders, the excise and the in early nineteenth century England and the right of the Crown's right to elect between different heads of charge to income tax. There are also chapters on taxation in the reign of King John and Stamp Duties in the 18th Century. International tax matters include a history of company residence and a paper on the first UK-Australia Double Tax Agreement. Papers concentrating on other countries include papers on the history of income tax in Malta (1641-1949), the history of land tax in Australia, the history of the legal definition of charity and its application to tax law and a paper on the psychology of taxation as shown by the 1936 US Election.

This timely research review successfully combines economically-oriented legal scholarship on insurance with policy-relevant economics scholarship on insurance. Professor Schwarcz has selected seminal contributions from the past twenty years to explore some of the central questions involving the role of the state in insurance markets. These include rules governing the interpretation and enforceability of insurance contracts, the regulation of insurers and insurance markets, and the role of public programs in supporting private insurance markets. This essential title will be of immense value and interest to students and academics interested in the diverse field of the law and economics of insurance.

An essential resource for lawyers, accountants, consultants, board members, and leaders involved with charitable organizations In The Tax Law of Charitable Giving: 2022 Cumulative Supplement, 6th Edition, renowned legal professional Bruce R. Hopkins delivers an indispensable and timely update to the rapidly evolving law governing charitable giving in the United States. Filled with relevant and impactful regulatory and legislative amendments, as well as the latest significant developments in American case law, the Supplement is an essential resource for business leaders involved in charitable organizations and the accountants, lawyers, and consultants who advise them.

Set against the backdrop of the recurring waves of financial scandal and crisis to hit Canada, the US, the UK, and Europe over the last decade, this book examines the struggles of securities enforcement agencies to police the financial markets. While allegations of regulatory failure in this realm are commonplace and are well documented in policy and legal scholarship, James Williams seeks to move beyond these conventional accounts arguing that they are based on a limited view of the regulatory process and overlook the actual practices and dilemmas of enforcement work. Informed by interviews with police, regulators, lawyers, accountants, and investor advocates, along with a wealth of documentary materials, the book is rooted in a uniquely interdisciplinary social science perspective. Peering inside the black box of enforcement, it examines the organizational, professional, geographical, technological, and legal influences that shape securities enforcement as a distinctly knowledge-based enterprise. The result of these influences, Williams argues, is the production of a very particular vision of financial disorder which captures certain forms of misconduct while overlooking others, a reflection not of incompetence or capture but of the unique demands and constraints of the regulatory craft. Providing a very different, and much needed, account of the challenges faced by regulators and enforcement agencies, this book will be of enormous interest to current research on enforcement, regulation, and governance both within and beyond the financial realm.