The International Monetary System and Change: Relations between the Mode of Negotiation and Legal Technique

Abstract

The Bretton Woods Conference of July 1944 agreed to create an international monetary system governed by a multilateral treaty and administered by the International Monetary Fund. The Articles of Agreement as drafted at the Conference by the representatives of 44 governments established rights and obligations for member countries in relation to monetary matters, and created a pool of resources to assist members to observe their obligations. The new function of ensuring the adequacy of global monetary reserves by allocating to members, or cancelling, a new reserve asset called the special drawing right (SDR), was conferred on the Fund by the first amendment of its Articles, which became effective in July 1969. The Articles, which on June 1, 1977 had been accepted by 130 countries, remain the major legal instrument of the system.¹