Interests in Securities: Private International Law Issues According to European Regulation and Hague Securities Convention

Abstract

The paper conducts a critical review on the issue of applicable law in cross-border securities transactions, focusing on the issue of interests in securities in cross-border exchanges. We present the European regulatory framewrok and the european efforts for the harmonisation of the applicable law, while we also examine the key aspects of Hague Securities Convention, relating international efforts to European harmonisation process. Finally, we highlight some problems that appear in Hague approach and we propose solutions, while we also link the above discussion with the parallel issue about substantial law of interests in securities. The above discussion is topical, as both harmonisation procedures take place simultaneously. Although UNIDROIT and Hague Convention were just recently signed, there are many more issues to be resolved so that they would properly function, in order to cover the field of cross-border transactions. Moreover, the debate between different approaches continues as there are counter-arguments against the solutions adopted; counterarguments that may encumber the effort for a final and efficient harmonisation.

Keywords: Intersts in Securities,Securities,Clearing And Settlement, Hague Securities Convention,UNIDROIT, Private International Law, European Law, European Securities Regulation, PRIMA, 98/26/EC, 2002/47/EC, Harmonisation of Securities Law

JEL Classification: K22, K33, E50, G20, G28, G30