This book addresses the veritable flood of litigation sparked by interest rate swaps and other financial derivatives and looks at the way in which these disputes are solved across a variety of jurisdictions.

It discusses how the issue is dealt with in Europe -where derivatives litigation is a pervasive problem- by comparing solutions in the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland and Hungary. It also addresses financial derivatives litigation beyond Europe, namely in the US, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Derivatives litigation raises a variety of highly relevant issues: it provides insights into the duties of care owed by the bank to its clients in terms of information, transparency and warnings; it is revelatory for conflicts of interests, since banks who enter into derivatives take contrarian positions to their clients, raising the question whether they are allowed to do so despite their role as fiduciaries. The book addresses the private law effect of regulatory conduct of business rules included in the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), and also looks at the capacity of public bodies to enter into derivatives agreements against the backdrop of intricate conflict of laws issues.

By analysing derivatives litigation, the book sheds light on the general relationship between private law, civil procedure, supervisory actions, regulatory action, administrative law, criminal law, and alternative dispute resolution, as well as on how to deal with mass claims in the financial sector.

An essential resource for practitioners involved in cross-border litigation, policy makers, and researchers.

Danny Busch is Professor of Financial Law and Director of the Institute for Financial Law at the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Matthias Lehmann is Professor of Private Law, International Private Law and Comparative Law at the University of Vienna, Austria and Professor of European and Comparative Business Law at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Gerard McMeel KC is a barrister practising from Quadrant Chambers and Professor of Commercial and Financial Law at the University of Reading, UK.