Soft International Law and the Promotion of Financial Regulation and Responsibility

This paper is a contribution to a book on exploring how hard and soft international law are used in advocating for social change. It focuses on the two sets of international standards that are applicable to international finance. The first are the international financial regulatory standards (hereinafter referred to as “international financial regulatory standards”) developed by the standard setting bodies, such as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The second are the standards dealing with enhancing the social and environmental responsibility of the financial sector (hereinafter referred to as “financial responsibility standards”). The paper is divided into four sections. The first section will discuss the international international financial regulatory standards. The second section will discuss some examples of soft law initiatives dealing with enhancing the social and environmental responsibility of the financial sector (hereinafter referred to as “financial responsibility standards”). The third section draws some lessons relating to the use of soft law in promoting change. The final section is a conclusion