Edited by: William Blair, Christos Gortsos, Chiara Zilioli

The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it has led to a major upheaval of the international banking sector. This book has an international reach and constitutes a blend between theory and international, EU, comparative and national law and practice, with the primary purpose to review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the architecture and content of international monetary and banking law. Part I is focused on this aspect, considering the response of international financial fora and some major central banks all over the globe to the crisis.

A secondary purpose is considered in Parts II and III, offering a thorough overview, analysis, and discussion of two main issues which currently are of a significant importance for, and have heavy impact on, the law governing monetary policy and relations, banking regulation and payment systems law: (i) digitalisation of money and finance and (ii) sustainable finance.

Other selected legal aspects relating to central banking, as well as to banking regulation and supervision are finally discussed in Part IV, and in particular central banks' independence and accountability, unconventional monetary policies, comparative aspects of central banking and banking failures, legal aspects of monetary integration, and the legal nature of financial standards.

The individual Chapters are written, exclusively, by members of the Committee on International Monetary Law of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA) and reflect the global composition of this Committee of leading experts in international monetary and banking law from international financial institutions, central banks, the academia, the judiciary, and legal practice.

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis and Maintenance of Financial Stability
1: The Role of International Financial Fora in Preserving Global Financial Stability amidst the Pandemic Crisis: The First 18 Months
2: Measures Taken by the Federal Reserve in Response to Financial Stress in the U.S. Economy Arising Out of the Global Pandemic
3:  The Response of Central Banks to the COVID-19 Crisis: Legal Aspects of the ECB's Monetary Policy Measures
4: The Response of Central Banks to the COVID-19 Crisis: Legal Aspects of the Bank of England's Policy Measures
5: Central Bank Policy Responses to the Effects of COVID-19 on the Brazilian Economy
6: Maintaining Financial Stability in China: Legal and Institutional Framework
Part II: Digitalisation of Money and Finance
7: Lex Cryptographica Financiera
8: Towards an international framework for the regulation and supervision of “stablecoins”
9: The Evolution of New Forms of Money and the Economic Constitution
10: Payment in Digital Currency: The Legal Challenge
11: Regulation of Crypto Assets: The EU Perspective
12: Japanese and International Law Developments of Crypto and Digital Currencies
13: Regulating Financial Data in the Digital Era
Part III: Sustainable Finance
14: The Evolution of the Regulatory Framework Governing Climate Change and Sustainable Finance in the EU and UK
15: Digitalization and Sustainability: Implications for Financial Law from a Japanese Perspective
16: The Emerging Human Rights and Environmental Responsibility of Financial Institutions
Part IV: Legal Aspects of Central Banking and Banking Regulation and Supervision
17: Independence and Accountability of Central Banking
18: Unconventional Monetary Policy in the Euro Area: A Comparative Analysis with the Unconventional Monetary Policy of the Federal Reserve
19: Central Banking in Taiwan: Governance, Functions, Monetary, and Exchange Rate Policies
20: Legal Framework for Monetary Integration in West Africa - AFCFTA
21: Supervisory Lessons from Bank Failures in Uganda
22: Financial Standards Are Not Legally Binding - Or Are They?