24 novembre 2021
Disputes Quick Read – 92 de 98 Publications
In the Fourth Jonathan Hirst Commercial Law lecture at the beginning of November, entitled 'what is the point of commercial law?', Lord Leggatt explained his view that the point of laws which govern commercial transactions is to facilitate commerce. Laws can do that by guarding against the risk or fear that one party to a transaction will not carry out its side of the bargain or will otherwise fail to honour the agreement.
Trade, he said, ''takes place within a system of norms and expectations of honesty, reliability and fair dealing" and a robust legal system is one way of creating the requisite trust between counterparties. That said, the law is by no means the only way of creating that trust, and self-regulating markets can rely on non-legal concepts such as long term commercial relationships, the importance of maintaining reputation, and social ties and pressures to have the same effect. He concluded, that "trust-based exchange without the support of law is difficult to achieve and maintain in modern commerce."
That brings us to cryptoassets.
Applying Lord Leggatt's commentary, how do the Courts create an environment whereby the norms of honesty, reliability and fair dealing can be upheld when addressing transactions taking place in such an innovative environment, often on an international scale, all in a largely unregulated space?
The answer, at present, is that the traditional tools available to a commercial lawyer are fast being applied to this burgeoning field: whether that be enforcing straight-forward contractual claims, applying the principles of unjust enrichment, or aiding recovery through freezing injunctions and disclosure orders. These tools will ultimately be assisted by appropriate regulation, but while progress is being made on that front - for example, the Financial Stability Board recently published a report on the regulation, supervision and oversight of global stablecoin regulation; that will take some time.
The English Courts have been quick to adapt, but need to keep pace with the fast moving technology and, perhaps more importantly, the novel ways in which it is being applied in order to generate the requisite confidence in cryptoasset transactions. In doing so, English commercial law can continue to achieve what Lord Leggatt views as their point - to facilitate commerce.
You can read more about a recent high-profile case of cryptoasset fraud here. To discuss the issues raised in more detail, please reach out to a member of our Disputes & Investigation team.
14 November 2024
par Tim Strong, Kate Hamblin
14 November 2024
par Emma Allen
8 November 2024
par Edward Spencer
30 October 2024
par plusieurs auteurs
15 October 2024
par Emma Allen, Andrew Spencer
5 July 2024
par Stuart Broom, Tom Charnley
21 March 2024
par Emma Allen, Amy Cheng
1 February 2024
par Katie Chandler, Emma Allen
12 February 2024
par Tim Strong, Nicole Baldev
14 December 2023
13 December 2023
23 October 2023
par plusieurs auteurs
17 October 2023
14 August 2023
par plusieurs auteurs
4 August 2023
par plusieurs auteurs
21 July 2023
10 July 2023
1 June 2023
par plusieurs auteurs
3 May 2023
par James Bryden
20 April 2023
par James Bryden
8 March 2023
2 March 2023
par Katie Chandler, Emma Allen
14 February 2023
13 February 2023
8 February 2023
par Jessie Prynne
19 January 2023
par Georgina Jones
3 October 2022
par Gemma Broughall
22 September 2022
par Ben Jones, Emma Allen
9 August 2022
par Nick Maday
25 July 2022
par Edward Spencer
6 July 2022
par Emma Allen
Welcome news for those pursuing fraud claims in the English Courts
28 July 2022
21 July 2022
par Edward Spencer
27 July 2022
par Stuart Broom
29 July 2022
par Jess Thomas, Lucy Waddicor
17 June 2022
par Stephanie High
13 June 2022
par Edward Spencer
26 May 2022
31 May 2022
par plusieurs auteurs
4 April 2022
5 April 2022
par Stephanie High
31 March 2022
par plusieurs auteurs
21 September 2021
par plusieurs auteurs
13 September 2021
par Edward Spencer
6 September 2021
par Stephanie High
2 August 2021
21 July 2021
15 July 2021
par Jess Thomas
26 May 2021
par David de Ferrars
5 May 2021
par Stephen O'Grady
21 April 2021
par Stephanie High
31 March 2021
26 February 2021
par Tim Strong
24 February 2021
20 January 2021
par Stephanie High
12 January 2021
par Tim Strong
23 November 2020
16 October 2020
23 September 2020
7 October 2020
par Nick Storrs
26 May 2020
par Edward Spencer
18 May 2020
par Katie Chandler
9 April 2020
par plusieurs auteurs
15 April 2020
27 April 2020
par plusieurs auteurs
21 April 2020
par Stephanie High
11 March 2020
par James Bryden
17 March 2020
par Stuart Broom
26 February 2020
par Tim Strong, Andrew Howell
21 February 2020
par Andrew Howell
2 June 2020
par Georgina Jones
16 June 2020
par Georgina Jones
2 July 2020
par Tim Strong, Georgina Jones
9 July 2020
3 December 2021
24 November 2021
par Stuart Broom
8 October 2021
par Katie Chandler
10 January 2022
par Tim Strong, Jess Thomas
20 January 2022
8 March 2022
par Jess Thomas, Lucy Waddicor
22 March 2022
7 April 2022
par Emma Allen, Georgina Jones