The European Civil Liability Regime for Credit Rating Agencies from the Perspective of Private International Law - Opening Pandora's Box?

The European Union (Union) introduced several legal acts to regulate and supervise credit rating agencies (CRAs). In rapid succession between 2009 and 2013, the European regulation introducing the regulatory regime for CRAs was followed by two reform regulations and supplemented further by delegated regulations. The second reform of the regulatory and supervisory regime for CRAs in the Union introduced various amendments to the rules including in particular the novel instrument of a civil liability regime for CRAs. This paper focuses on selected private international law issues linked to the new European civil liability regime for CRAs. The exploration of the civil liability regime for CRAs in the Union from the perspective of private international law might be considered also to contribute to the general legal (-practical) and dogmatic discourse on liability rules in the realm of European financial market law. This debate has gained further momentum in the aftermath of the financial crisis and might lead to further actions of the European and national legislators in the near future