This chapter explains the economic functions and organizational structure of contemporary banking. It first discusses the role of banks in the economy, offering a brief account of the role of the financial system in capital allocation and risk management as well as key bank functions in this respect. It then details the rise and fall of the multifunctional bank in the era of globalization, and the different aspects of the too-big-to-fail bank problem and its possible causes. It explains the international nature of bank regulation and the standard-setting and regulatory coordination provided by key transnational regulatory networks such as the Basel committee on Bank Supervision and the Financial Stability Board; discusses the legal definition of the term ‘bank’ in the US and of ‘credit institution’ under EU legislation; advances a new understanding of what the term ‘bank’ means in the post-2008 era.
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Ross Cranston, Emilios Avgouleas, Kristin van Zweiten, Theodor van Sante, and Christoper Hare
Chapter
This chapter examines whether the actions of individuals in the digital environment could be regulated. It first considers John Perry Barlow’s 1996 publication of his Declaration of Independence for Cyberspace, in which he asserts that cyberspace was a separate sovereign space where real-world laws and real-world governments were of little or no effect. Barlow’s forceful challenge to lawmakers and law enforcement bodies gave rise to a school of thought known as cyberlibertarianism. The chapter compares cyberlibertarianism with another school of thought called cyberpaternalism, which rejected the notion that cyberspace was immune from regulatory intervention by real-world regulators. It also explains Lawrence Lessig’s modalities of internet regulation, network communitarianism, private regulators of cyberspace, and states’ supranational regulation of cyberspace. The chapter goes on to examine contemporary theories of internet governance and regulation including libertarian paternalism, platform and intermediary regulation, and algorithmic regulation.
Chapter
Clare Firth, Jennifer Seymour, Lucy Crompton, Helen Fox, Frances Seabridge, Jennifer Seymour, and Elizabeth Smart
A concerted effort is being made within the UK and EU to crack down on money laundering. This is reflected by the European Money Laundering Directives, which led to changes in the UK legislation, in particular the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations (MLR). Solicitors are usually unwittingly involved in a money laundering scheme. They can avoid this by being conversant with the requirements of the money laundering legislation and fully complying with it. This chapter explains the process of money laundering; the primary legislation and offences; and the relevance of the legislation to solicitors.
Chapter
This chapter examines whether the actions of individuals in the digital environment could be regulated. It first considers John Perry Barlow’s 1996 publication of his Declaration of Independence for Cyberspace, in which he asserts that cyberspace was a separate sovereign space where real-world laws and real-world governments were of little or no effect. Barlow’s forceful challenge to lawmakers and law enforcement bodies gave rise to a school of thought known as cyberlibertarianism. The chapter compares cyberlibertarianism with another school of thought called cyberpaternalism, which rejected the notion that cyberspace was immune from regulatory intervention by real-world regulators. It also explains Lawrence Lessig’s modalities of internet regulation, network communitarianism, private regulators of cyberspace, and states’ supranational regulation of cyberspace. The chapter goes on to examine contemporary theories of internet governance and regulation including libertarian paternalism, platform and intermediary regulation and algorithmic regulation.
Chapter
Ross Cranston, Emilios Avgouleas, Kristin van Zweiten, Theodor van Sante, and Christoper Hare
This chapter begins with a discussion of the reasons for bank regulation. Traditionally the focus of bank regulation has been the protection of individual institutions' stability from a depositors' run, and of depositors and deposit guarantee schemes from incurring losses in the event of bank failures. Another fundamental goal was the protection of taxpayers from a public bailout and from the kind of moral hazard that arises when public bank rescues are likely. However, in recent years, and especially since the global financial crisis the focus of bank regulation has broadened to include eliminating too-big-to-fail institutions; increasing capital cushions and introducing liquidity requirements; and enhancing the resilience of the financial system to withstand system-wide shocks. The remainder of the chapter covers prudential regulation, capital regulation, the different phases of the Basel capital framework, and the total loss absorbing capacity standard.
Chapter
Clare Firth, Jennifer Seymour, Lucy Crompton, Helen Fox, Frances Seabridge, Jennifer Seymour, and Elizabeth Smart
This chapter begins with a description of how the legal services market has undergone recent change, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) Principles and Codes of Conduct within the Standards and Regulations replacing the previous outcomes-focused regulation code (OFR Code). It considers what being a member of the profession and a good solicitor means, the Principles, relevant paragraphs of the Codes of Conduct, the Transparency Rules, and the SRA’s Enforcement Strategy currently in force. It explains how the recent changes have widened legal services provision and introduced further flexibility into how solicitors and firms justify their compliance with the regulations. It then looks at the practical application of the principles and paragraphs which are most relevant to readers at this stage of their legal career as a student (covering practical examples relevant to each core legal practice area) and trainee.
Chapter
Sir William Wade and Christopher Forsyth
This chapter begins with a discussion of public corporations, covering the uses of corporate personality, legal status and liability, and relevance in administrative law. It then describes the mechanisms of privatization and nationalization, the changing nature of regulation, and some regulatory mechanisms, including the regulation of commerce, financial services, and public utilities.
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Sir William Wade, Christopher Forsyth, and Julian Ghosh
This chapter begins with a discussion of public corporations, covering the uses of corporate personality, legal status and liability and relevance in administrative law. It then describes the mechanisms of privatisation and nationalisation, the changing nature of regulation and some regulatory mechanisms, including the regulation of commerce, financial services and public utilities.
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Internet access is dependent on two major factors: Internet (generally referred to as IP) addresses, which are a functional equivalent to telephone numbers, and domain names. The former element raises a number of technical issues but is generally non-contentious. Systems of domain names—which effectively serve as an alias for IP numbers—are much more controversial and raise major issues how the Internet should be regulated. This chapter begins with a discussion of the emergence of Internet regulation. It then turns to domain names and the regulation of the domain-name system at both a global and country specific level.
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This chapter defines some key terms and then focuses on the two questions that are most often debated when people consider the revolution in employment regulation that has occurred in recent decades: Why have we seen such a growth in the extent to which the employment relationship is regulated in the UK? What are the advantages and disadvantages of increased employment regulation for the UK’s economy and people? In answering these questions the chapter introduces some of the major themes which underpin the evaluative material in this text. It also considers attempts made by recent governments to lessen the burden of regulation on employers, most of which have been widely perceived as having had, at best, very limited effect. Finally, it considers the consequences and impact of how employment tribunal fees before they were abolished, and looks at the decline in membership of trade unions and its effect.
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This chapter looks at the background to the Working Time Regulations, the core working time rights and the specifics of the law. It then considers some of the arguments that have been raised both for and against such regulation. The Working Time Regulations regulate daily rest, weekly working time, weekly rest and annual leave, among other matters. The maximum weekly working time is forty-eight hours, but the UK has retained an opt-out to this, so a person can agree to work more hours. The opt-out remains extremely controversial amongst fellow European Member States. The chapter also considers remedies if the rights are breached.
Book
Elizabeth Fisher, Bettina Lange, and Eloise Scotford
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. Environmental Law: Text, Cases & Materials provides students with a deep understanding of environmental law while also encouraging critical reflection of legal reasoning and pointing out areas of controversy and debate. The authors present a wide range of extracts from UK, EU, and international cases, legislation, and articles to help support learning and demonstrate both how the law works in practice and how it should or could work, clearly guiding students through key areas while providing insightful explanations and analysis. Topics have been carefully selected to support a wide range of environmental law courses, within law school and beyond. These include pollution control, nature conservation, climate change regulation, town planning, and water regulation, all incorporating aspects of law from local, UK, EU and international legal cultures. With its unique combination of extracts and author discussion, this new edition provides a wide-ranging, stimulating, and fresh approach to environmental law, which can be relied upon throughout your course and career. This book is also accompanied by an Online Resource Centre that features updates to the law, further reading suggestions, and useful weblinks.
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This chapter discusses the meaning and role of regulatory strategy in English and EU environmental law. Regulatory strategy is often thought of as an instrument to achieve certain environmental protection ends but the chapter argues that, despite the availability of a plethora of regulatory tools to implement them, regulators often face significant challenges to act in a strategic manner and to turn environmental regulatory strategy into an effective instrument of behavioural change. Against this background the chapter outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the key regulatory strategies currently adopted by both public and private regulators in a range of jurisdictions.
Book
Iris H-Y Chiu and Joanna Wilson
Banking Law fully addresses the current landscape of banking law and regulation post the 2008 financial crisis. Coverage is balanced between transactional, regulatory, and private law topics across UK banking law, as well as European and international law. The text aims to cover everything needed for a full understanding. Topics covered include: the banker–customer relationship, payment, regulatory architecture in the UK and the European Union, macroprudential regulation, banking culture, governance, incentives, crisis management and resolution, and combatting financial crime.
Book
Jonathan Hill and Máire Ní Shúilleabháin
Clarkson & Hill's Conflict of Laws, now in its fifth edition, provides a clear and up-to-date account of private international law topics. Theoretical issues and fundamental principles are introduced in the first chapter and expanded upon in later chapters. Basic principles of the conflict of laws are presented, offering clarity on complex points and terminology. The fifth edition reflects the field's changing focus from case law to domestic and European legislation, incorporating the Brussels I Regulation and Brussels II Revised Regulation, as well as the more recent Rome Regulations and Brussels I Recast. Embracing this reorientation of the field and increased emphasis on the recognition and enforcement of judgments, the chapters provide detailed commentary on the most important commercial topics as well as the most relevant topics in family law.
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Iris Chiu and Joanna Wilson
This chapter addresses the UK bank supervision and regulatory architecture. Although banking business has existed in England since the seventeenth century, banks enjoyed no formal system of regulation until the introduction of the Banking Act of 1979. Over the years, the scope and intensity of regulation increased. After the global financial crisis, further changes were made to bank regulation as well as the regulatory architecture in the UK for bank regulation. The regulatory architecture introduced in April 2013 is characterised as ‘twin peaks’, that is, having two main agencies that are responsible for different regulatory objectives. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for ‘prudential’ objectives—that is, the solvency and financial soundness of financial institutions—while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for conduct of business and market regulation, including promoting competition. The PRA and FCA enjoy a wide berth of rule-making and enforcement powers.
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Ross Cranston, Emilios Avgouleas, Kristin van Zweiten, Theodor van Sante, and Christoper Hare
This chapter considers banks' securities activities. Many banks have compensated for the decline in traditional finance by emphasizing their securities activities. These range from the traditional task of investment banks in advising, underwriting, and distributing new issues of securities, through to dealing on their own account on securities and derivatives markets — proprietary trading. In the decade leading up to the Global Financial Crisis, banks also played a significant role in introducing new products to these markets, including asset-backed securities and credit derivatives. The onset of the crisis provoked intense scrutiny and widespread criticism of many of these activities, and led to the introduction of significant controls on the ability of banks to engage in them. The chapter discusses types of securities, subordination, and custody; distributing securities issues; and securities regulation.
Chapter
Scott Slorach, Judith Embley, Peter Goodchild, and Catherine Shephard
This chapter examines the development of the legal profession in the UK. It discusses lawyers as professionals; the importance of legal services and their regulation; the legal profession in England & Wales; the role of ethics in lawyers’ work and the changing face of the legal profession within society.
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International environmental law is an area of international law where states have decided to cooperate with each other in order to fulfil certain goals of common interest and, for the most part, its rules and principles belong in the category of the international law of cooperation. This chapter discusses the most important parts of international environmental law and its main legal sources. It presents the fundamental principles of international environmental law, including those that seek to prevent damage to the environment and those that seek to ensure a balanced approach to environmental protection. It provides an overview of the most important parts of the substantial regulation in international environmental law, including the legal regime for the protection of the atmosphere, the conservation of nature and the regulation of hazardous substances. It also discusses features related to implementation and enforcement that are particular to international environmental law.
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Legal representatives are obliged to give clients the best information possible about the likely costs of pursuing and ultimately resolving disputes, and to discuss with the client the best way of funding the action. This funding advice is inextricably linked to a legal representative’s professional conduct duties highlighted in the Handbook. This chapter focuses on the information clients need to know about costs in accordance with the Handbook’s Principles and its Chapter 1 on Client Care in the Code, as well as the different types of funding options available that may or may not be offered to a client. The chapter considers important recent changes in the application of costs and funding options in litigation.
