International Financial Law: Is the Law Really "International" and Is It "Law" Anyway?

This article addresses the question of ?what is international financial law?? The main aim is to contribute to an understanding of this ?new? subject by delimiting its scope and mapping out the legal framework for resolving the key legal issues. The secondary aim is to debate the likely future development of the subject in the light of evolving shifts in economic and geo-political power away from Anglo-American and other Western liberal nations. Based on recent law in England and Wales, the article conceptualizes international financial law as consisting of the key international financial techniques of loans, bonds, equity and the diverse secondary products deriving from these core products. The lawyers' primary role is one of managing risk in the multi-jurisdictional setting of these transactions. The article focuses on the courts' contribution to the development of the substantive law of international finance by the adaptation of general principles of law to the key financing techniques. It also considers the role of regulators who act as custodians of the public interest and who seek to ensure the safety and efficiency of the financial system as a whole. The development of this intricate subject follows an interactive model that is evident in two modern trends that will in the medium term remain the dominant theme. First, informal market-generated standards, private law and public regulation mutually support and influence each another and on occasion meld into one another. Secondly, the development of law and regulation is multi-layered in that it takes place at the national, regional and international levels. There is an increasing tendency for standards set at one level to influence the development of standards at the other levels and the resulting rules are ultimately aligned to international standards.