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New legal framework for protecting investor rights in CIS
EBRD welcomes adoption of model law for capital markets
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development welcomes a decision by the parliamentarians of the Commonwealth of Independent States to agree on a model law for the securities markets as a major step forward for investor and property rights in the former Soviet Union.
"The model law gives legislators in the 12 countries of the CIS a single standard by which to draft national rules for their capital markets. Its adoption marks an important stage in the process of harmonising commercial legislation in these former Soviet republics and holds out the prospect of increased protection for investors and all those who want to do business in these countries," said Emmanuel Maurice, the EBRD's General Counsel.
Work on the project, funded by the governments of the Netherlands and Germany, started in 1999, co-sponsored by the EBRD and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The Centre for International Legal Cooperation at Leiden University's Institute of East European Law and Russian studies acted as consultant.
The goal was to give CIS states common rules for key aspects of the securities business and set high standards for the protection of investor rights. Similar CIS standards already exist for the Civil Code and bankruptcy, mortgage and company laws.
The model securities law was unanimously adopted by the Plenary Session of the Commonwealth of Independent States Inter-parliamentary Assembly in St. Petersburg on November 24. Model laws are not binding but act as an important guide when drafting specialised legislation.
A follow-up meeting is to be held before the end of the year bringing together the heads of the regulatory bodies of the individual CIS securities markets and representatives of the appropriate parliamentary committees to decide how to implement model law provisions into national legislation.
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