Uses and Abuses of Collective Action Clauses in Sovereign Bonds

摘要

The topic of collective action clauses in sovereign bonds has recently attracted much attention. In particular: 1) These clauses were retroactively inserted by a Greek law into existing bonds governed by Greek law in February 2012 as part of the reorganisation of the Greek government debt. 2) The members of the eurozone agreed in the revised Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism, signed by all 17 euro area Member States, that collective action clauses will be included, as of 1 January 2013, in nearly all new euro area government securities. 3) The use of collective action clauses was discussed in the recent judgment of a New York Federal District Court and Court of Appeals about the meaning of the pari passu clause in the much-discussed case of NML v Argentina.