The Increasing Role of Gatekeepers in Modern Markets: Rating Agencies and Trusted Third Parties in the Electronic Environment

UCL Centre for Commercial Law

The Increasing Role of Gatekeepers in Modern Markets:
Rating Agencies and Trusted Third Parties in the Electronic Environment

Wednesday 3 February 2010, 6pm
UCL Moot Court, Faculty of Laws
Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens,
London WC1H 0EG 

Speakers:
Dr. Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain
Dr. Manuel Alba Fernandez, both, Interim Associate Professor of Commercial Law, Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain

Chair:
Dr Arad Reisberg, UCL Faculty of Laws

Background:
Questions entwined with the information flow in different markets, deriving from the activities anyhow aimed at selling confidence, have proved to underlie many of the problems that we have been confronting in recent times. Consequently, gatekeepers and trusted third parties have attracted the attention of legislators, institutions, and generally the public. Some of the policy lines that are already being discussed in many fora refer to issues such as the functions and commitments that are to be required or, at least, expected from these actors, as well as the liabilities attached thereto. This seminar is intended to address all these matters and other more specific ones within the said realm.

The topics to be addressed in this seminar are:

• The notion and functions of Gatekeepers: inferring a neutral and universal model of the trusted third party (T3P).
• Policy problems relating to gatekeepers and T3P: regulation, codes and rules of conduct and self-regulation.
• Liability for damages involving information supplied by rating agencies
• Confidence and risk in the information society: economic and legal implications of T3P services
• General overview of responsibilities and challenges faced by T3P in the near future
  

About the speakers:
Dr. Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell
Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell is Interim Associate Professor of Commercial Law at Carlos III University of Madrid. She has taught in undergraduate and graduate programs in different Universities, in Spain and in other countries and spent researching stays in Tokyo, Oxford, London, Rome, Bremen, New York. Her publications, in Spanish and English, address different topics of commercial law that include electronic commerce law, International Commercial Transactions Law, Corporate Law and Security Interests.

Dr. Manuel Alba Fernandez
Manuel Alba is Interim Associate Professor of Commercial law at Carlos III University of Madrid. He has taught in undergraduate and graduate programs in different Universities, in Spain and in other countries. He has also experience as a researcher and has published in different topics of commercial and maritime law, in Spanish and English.