Papers by Aline Darbellay
Regulating Credit Rating Agencies
Since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the leading credit rating agencies (CRAs) have fa... more Since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, the leading credit rating agencies (CRAs) have faced an increasing level of legal and regulatory scrutiny in the United States (US) and in the European Union (EU). This chapter sheds light on the promise and perils of sovereign credit ratings in the light of the European sovereign debt crisis. The leading CRAs have been blamed for providing investors with inaccurate credit ratings, facing inappropriate incentives and lack of oversight. This chapter addresses the evolving function performed by CRAs over the past century. Traditionally, CRAs are private market actors assessing the creditworthiness of borrowers and debt instruments. Since the first sovereign bond ratings assigned in 1918, the rating business has grown in size and importance. Sovereign ratings supposedly predict financial distress of governments. Their role has shifted over the last four decades. Although they have repeatedly been blamed for being poor predictors of sovere...
The screening of foreign investment has become a growing concern for many countries. In the midst... more The screening of foreign investment has become a growing concern for many countries. In the midst of a trade war between the US and China as well as issues related to state-owned companies’ interference in the EU, it is bound to become a subject of heated debates in Switzerland. As we continue to live through a global pandemic, some countries are seeing themselves lacking or at least vulnerable in terms of access to energy, essential goods and critical technologies. As such, the widespread growing feeling of protectionism is stronger than ever as countries try to defend themselves against foreign states’ intrusions into their national markets at the detriment of the free movement of capital. For that reason, this paper’s objective is to study three different approaches to capital control, namely (i) the restrictive US, (ii) the indecisive EU and (iii) the liberal Swiss frameworks. This paper underlines two main schools of thought. On the one hand, administrative mechanisms harmonize...
Face a l’urgence climatique, les milieux financiers se redirigent vers des produits et services p... more Face a l’urgence climatique, les milieux financiers se redirigent vers des produits et services plus durables et doivent elaborer des standards afin d’etablir des processus et des methodes permettant de mesurer l’impact des investissements sur l’environnement. Cette contribution au Liber amicorum pour Henry Peter analyse, d’une part, dans quelle mesure l’implantation de standards internationaux en matiere de finance durable peut etre renforcee par la reglementation europeenne qui s’en inspire ; d’autre part, elle explique comment et pourquoi, meme dans un systeme qui repose largement sur une demarche volontaire, telle la Suisse, la prise en compte des standards internationaux revet une importance particuliere.
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verz... more Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen National bibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http:// dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Alle Rechte, auch die des Nachdrucks von Auszügen, vorbehalten. Jede Verwertung ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig. Dies gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronische Systeme.
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) consist of an innovative form of capital raising. In the digital er... more Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) consist of an innovative form of capital raising. In the digital era, it has become technically possible to raise substantial funds within a very short period of time. This paper analyses the civil liability regime applying to misrepresentations com-municated to investors acquiring tokens in an ICO. Pursuant to the prospectus liability provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), any actor participa-ting in the drafting or dissemination of prospectuses is liable for untrue, misleading representations or omis-sions of a material fact in prospectuses or similar state-ments. We argue that this regime applies by analogy to ICOs. This study portrays the various business models prevailing in the digital marketplace in order to discuss the legal qualification of tokens issued in an ICO. Pros-pectus requirements are detailed with a view to asses-sing how to translate them into the world of ICOs. We also address the elements of prospectus liability. In par-...
The Cambridge Companion to Business and Human Rights Law
... 1007 (2003). n5n5 Christopher Carr & Flavia Rosembuj, Flexible Mechanisms for Climate Cha... more ... 1007 (2003). n5n5 Christopher Carr & Flavia Rosembuj, Flexible Mechanisms for Climate Change Compliance: Emission Offset Purchases under the Clean Development Mechanism, 16 NYU ENVTL. LJ 44, 44 (2008). n6n6 ...
Die zweckmässige Leitung einer Pensionskasse ist von grosser Bedeutung. Anforderungen an die Stif... more Die zweckmässige Leitung einer Pensionskasse ist von grosser Bedeutung. Anforderungen an die Stiftungsräte dienen dazu, eine wirksame Pension Fund Governance zu gewährleisten; ebenso ist die Einführung von guten Anreizstrukturen empfehlenswert, damit die Organe der Pensionskasse ihre Verantwortung wahrnehmen.
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Papers by Aline Darbellay