Expectations of privacy and market abuse ‐ support for the Financial Services and Markets Act and the Canadian approach

Introduces the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), a determined effort to modernise financial regulation which creates the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a monolithic regulator and the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal as an appellate channel. Shows how the Act represents a shift from self‐regulation to statutory regulation, remedying the shortcomings of the 1986 Financial Services Act. Outlines the FSA’s powers, and how they might conflict with the European Convention on Human Rights. Compares the FSMA with the Canadian approach to the questions of balancing regulation and public confidence in the market on one side, with protection of individual rights on the other; these concerns are embodied respectively in the Securities Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.