Private-Law Instruments for Reduction of Risks on International Financial Markets: Results and Limits of Self-Regulation

Abstract

International financial markets are characterized by self-regulation among private parties and international action in the regulation of such behavior. The Group of Seven plan, the World Trade Organization Agreements, the General Agreement on Trade in Services principles, and European Union Community Law provide a minimum standard of derivative transactions with the aim of reducing the risks related to those products. Codes of best practice are a source of regulation at an international level, but their effectiveness depends on their acceptance by the business firms operating in the markets. The role of self-regulation is very important; it can prevent and manage risk in an optimal way, under the condition of a harmonized international law. Public law has to manage the externalities that arise from private transactions, and private regulation has to make the rest.