Global Capital Markets Center
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Professor Jim Cox 12 Syd. L. Rev. 381 (1988) |
ABSTRACT:
Insider trading of one form or another has most certainly been a part of society as long as markets have existed. As one peruses the world press it is clear that the appetite for prosecuting insider trading is worldwide. Australia is currently caught in a debate about how its untested insider trading provisions can be further strengthened. The anomaly throughout these developments is the lack of agreement among the bar, members of Parliament, courts and even regulators over who or what insider trading harms. This article provides a close analysis of the contemporary justification frequently advanced for the regulation of insider trading. So as not to leave the reader with only a criticism, the author provides a coherent rationalization for the prosecution of insider trading. This rationalization is then contrasted with the objectives and provisions of Australia's recently enacted Corporations Act of 1989. The final section of this article provides reaction to the many complaints others have raised regarding weaknesses inherent in the former regulatory framework that placed the National Companies and Securities Commission at the center of Australia's regulation of insider trading. This latter analysis provides a basis for optimism that the newly created Australian Securities Commission will not suffer the same institutional difficulties that this article believes seriously eroded its predecessor's effectiveness.
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