Sovereign Financing and International Law: The UNCTAD Principles on Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing

The regulation of sovereign financing is a highly topical and significant issue, in the light of continuing global financial turmoil. This book assesses the role of international law in sovereign financing, addressing this issue from both legal and economic standpoints. It takes as a starting point the recent report 'Principles on Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing' by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This report was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its December 2011 Resolution on Debt, which emphasized the need for creditors and debtors to share responsibility for preventing unsustainable debt situations and encouraged all stakeholders to pursue the ongoing discussions within the framework of the UNCTAD Initiative. Investigating the legal and economic basis for the principles which were articulated in the report, the book develops a detailed and nuanced analysis of the controversial and complex issues they raise, including those concerning finance and credit rating agencies, contingent liabilities, debt management, corruption, fiduciary relations and duties, Collective Action Clauses, and the role of the EU and UN. Ultimately, it argues that the principles elaborated in the report correspond with general principles of international law, which provide a strong, pre-existing foundation upon which to build responsible principles for sovereign financing. Contributors to this volume - Manuel Monjas Barroso, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Armin von Bogdandy, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law Antonis Bredimas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Lee Buccheit, Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Anna Gelpern, American University, Washington College of Law Matthias Goldmann, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law Anastasios Gourgourini, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Mitu Gulati, Duke University Xiuli Han, Xiamen University Robert Howse, New York University Meibo Huang, Xiamen University Juan Bautista Justo, Universidad Nacional del Comahue Fernando Gallardo Olmedo, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Jose Oyola, INTOSAI-International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions Ugo Panizza, Chief of the Debt And Finance Analysis Unit, UNCTAD; Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva Georges Pavlidis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Kunibert Raffer, University of Vienna Carmen Mendoza Resco, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Marie Sudreau, Sovereign Debt Associate, UNCTAD Ignacio Tirado, Legal Counsel, World Bank; Senior Lecturer of Corporate and Insolvency Law at Universidad Autonoma de Madrid Michael Waibel, University of Cambridge Mark C. Weidemaier, University of North Carolina