Prof Bismuth Presents at Conferences in Greece and Canada, Gives a Guest Lecture in Brazil

On August 29-31, Professor Régis Bismuth participated in the annual regional conference of the International Law Association, on the theme "Governance, Trade, Resources" in Athens, Greece.

Gathering academics as well as practitioners from around the world, the conference focused on the Rule of Law as manifested in the areas of Trade and Resources and their related Governance issues. Régis Bismuth's paper addressed the legal issues of sovereign debt. Under the title "Does Freedom of Speech Protect Credit Rating Agencies?" it provided an assessment of the recent European Union initiatives to regulate unsolicited sovereign credit ratings. Bismuth explains: "The issue at stake is, taking into account that ratings given by rating agencies qualify as 'opinion', whether recent EU regulations strictly regulating and limiting sovereign ratings comply with freedom of expression standards."

See conference program

The International Law Association is an international non-governmental organization founded in Brussels in 1973 with the purpose of "study(ing), clarify(ing) and develop(ing) international law, both public and private, and further(ing) international understanding and respect of international law." It has a consultative status with a number of United Nations specialized agencies. Its work is organized around regular international and regional conferences.

Professor Bismuth had presented on a similar topic in Montreal, Canada, during an international colloquium on Sovereign Debt that took place at the University of Sherbrooke, 10-11 June 2013 (see program.)

Among Bismuth's other recent international activities was a guest lecture on "Legal Issues Surrounding Sovereign Debt Held by Private Creditors" at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil, July 1-5. Bismuth explains: "In the absence of a centralized and supranational bankruptcy procedure for sovereign States in international law, I discussed the limits of and the disorder generated by current litigations initiated by creditors as well as prospects for an improvement of existing informal and decentralized mechanisms." (More information)