Registrar of investment instruments in the European and comparative perspective Abstract The submitted thesis deals with the regulation of a registrar of investment instruments in the context of the relevant Czech and European Union laws. The aim of this dissertation is to provide a theoretical insight into the issues of regulation of investment instruments within the statutory and case law, taking into account current issues that are relevant from the practical point of view. This thesis also adequately addresses the prospects of a legislative development of activities on the European Union level and it reflects some practical trends in the financial markets sector. The first two chapters deal with general and theoretical issues that are closely related to the main topic of the thesis. They specifically focus on a definition of investment instruments and its registrar in the current jurisprudence and economic science, and also include a detailed explanation of the significance of these two subjects. The second chapter also adequately addresses the legal aspects of investment instruments, immobilized securities and book-entry securities in line with the relevant Czech laws. The third chapter provides a detailed legal analysis of relevant laws and regulations of the registrar of investment instruments....

This thesis deals with the phenomenon of the uncertificated securities in the context of financial law. Proper and prudential legal regulation of the securities is considered to be key element of efficient financial markets of which the importance for the economics is systematically growing in past few decades. From the beginning, financial markets were dominated by certificated securities represented by legal fiction incorporating rights arising from the security into a certificate and considering this certificate as a tangible movable asset. In the consequence of the development of financial markets and securities trading uncertificated securities were developed to make transfers of the securities and asset management feasible. Uncertificated securities can be defined as substitutable physical securities incorporating private rights which are prerequisite for the exercise and transfer of those rights and which are replaced by a record entered in the central register of securities, mainly central securities depositories. The form of the uncertificated securities determines the necessity of their special legal regulation taking into account their legal nature and connected legal aspects of record keeping. The purpose of my thesis is to analyse relevant Czech legislation and highlight both...

Central securities depository Abstract The topic of this diploma thesis is the person of a central securities depository, with a specific focus on its legal regulation. In relation to this topic, two main areas are accentuated - on the one hand, the authorisation procedure of a central securities depository and, on the other hand, its subsequent functioning. The aim of the paper is to comprehensively cover all relevant aspects of the legislation, to reflect on its suitability, assess its necessity, analyse its current issues, and also present its potential future direction. The thesis contains an introduction, five systematically segmented chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter serves as an obligatory introduction to the subject and at first deals with the definition of the financial and capital market. In the second subchapter of this chapter, a brief introduction to the central securities depository and a description of its position within the latter mentioned market takes place. This chapter is then concluded by a segment concerning supervision and its genesis in the Czech Republic. The second chapter tackles the procedure for the authorisation to operate a central securities depository, analysing both the already repealed domestic legislation and the regulation coming from the representatives of...

Organizations in the financial services industry are coming under increasing pressure. Regulatory compliance, operational inefficiencies, and the higher cost of capital are all forcing incumbents to adapt. As such, there are strong incentives for technological innovations that either reduce costs or generate new revenue. Distributed ledger technology (DLT), the foundation of bitcoin, is one of the latest innovations that appear to be the source of an imminent solution. An identified area with great potential for DLT is the post-trade market where market players, such as central securities depositories (CSDs), are heavily investing in pilot studies of how DLT may affect their business activities. In fact, the practical potential of adoption has been demonstrated by experiments and proof of concepts. However, while technological and regulatory aspects have been more frequently discussed in academia, the business dimension of the adoption of DLT within CSDs has received less attention. In this thesis, the business opportunities and challenges of the adoption of DLT within CSDs were explored, coupled with an analysis of the contextual factors affecting the rate of adoption. Further, this thesis compares the throughput performance between a centralized system and a private permissioned network. By performing a multiple-case study with a mixed-methodology approach, the researcher analyzed the literature, conducted a performance evaluation, and interviewed several industry experts. The conclusions suggest that the main business opportunities are the incorporation of digital assets and CSDs potential role as the gatekeeper of private networks. The main identified challenges related to adoption were interoperability, standardization, collaboration, scalability, defining applicable use cases, and governance and regulatory frameworks. Further, the performance evaluation suggests that the throughput performance of the centralized system outperforms the private permissioned network by an average of 6.5 times. The findings have both practical and academic implications. In academics, this thesis lays the foundation for further studies and provides new insights into the business dimensions of the adoption of DLT within CSDs. For practitioners, this thesis provides a basis for discussion and assessment of the entailed challenges related to the adoption of DLT within the post-trade market. / Organisationer inom finansbranschen utsätts för ökande press. Regelverksefterlevnad, operationell ineffektivitet och den högre kapitalkostnaden tvingar aktörer att anpassa sig. Som sådan finns det starka incitament för tekniska innovationer som antingen minskar kostnaderna eller genererar nya intäkter. Distribuerade liggare (DLT), grunden för bitcoin, är en av de senaste innovationerna som visar stor potential. Ett identifierat område med stor potential för DLT är post-trade-marknaden där marknadsaktörer, såsom centrala värdepappersförvarare (CSD), har investerat i pilotstudier av hur DLT kan påverka deras affärsverksamhet. Faktum är att den praktiska potentialen har demonstrerats genom experiment och bevis på koncept. Men även om tekniska och regulatoriska aspekter har diskuterats mer frekvent i den akademiska världen, har affärsdimensionen med införandet av DLT inom CSD:er fått mindre uppmärksamhet. I det här examensarbetet utforskades affärsmöjligheterna och utmaningarna med införandet av DLT inom CSDs, tillsammans med en analys av de marknadsmässiga faktorerna som påverkar spridningen av teknologin. Vidare jämför denna avhandling genomströmningsprestandan mellan ett centraliserat system och ett private permissioned nätverk. Genom att utföra en flerfallsstudie med en blandad metodologi analyserade forskaren litteraturen, genomförde en prestandautvärdering och intervjuade flera branschexperter. Slutsatserna tyder på att de huvudsakliga affärsmöjligheterna är integreringen av digitala tillgångar och CSD:s potentiella roll som gatekeeper för privata nätverk. De främsta identifierade utmaningarna i samband med införandet av DLT var interoperabilitet, standardisering, samarbete, skalbarhet, definition av tillämpliga användningsfall samt styrning och regelverk. Vidare antyder prestandautvärderingen att genomströmningsprestandan för det centraliserade systemet överträffar det private permissioned nätverket med i genomsnitt 6,5 gånger. Resultaten har både praktiska och akademiska implikationer. Inom akademin lägger denna avhandling grunden för fortsatta studier och ger nya insikter om affärsdimensionerna av införandet av DLT inom CSDs. För praktiker ger detta examensarbete ett underlag för diskussion och bedömning av de medförda utmaningarna relaterade till införandet av DLT inom post-trade-marknaden.

A liquidação das operações internacionais com valores mobiliários suscita questões de grande relevância em decorrência das diferenças entre os sistemas jurídicos envolvidos e a pluralidade de participantes. O objetivo desta tese é analisar as normas jurídicas brasileiras em relação às estrangeiras relevantes, por força de operações transfronteiriças que tenham por objeto valores mobiliários escriturais, notadamente operações de compra e venda de ações, para verificar a situação do sistema jurídico brasileiro e sua estrutura de pós-negociação em relação a outros países. Haverá descrição e análise da estrutura de liquidação de operações domésticas e da estrutura envolvida em operação com componente estrangeiro. Como aspectos necessários para a compreensão do tema, abordam-se as consequências jurídicas decorrentes da imobilização e desmaterialização dos valores mobiliários e da interposição de intermediários entre o investidor final e o emissor dos valores mobiliários usual nas operações transfronteiriças. Todo o trabalho considera as tendências e esforços de harmonização das normas aplicáveis que vem ocorrendo no plano internacional, podendo-se verificar que as normas e estruturas brasileiras para liquidação de operações com valores mobiliários são sólidas, adequadas e precisam apenas de aprimoramentos pontuais para atingir os melhores padrões internacionais. / The settlement of international securities transactions raises important issues due to the differences among legal systems and the pluralism of participants involved. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Brazilian legal rules in relation to relevant foreign rules by virtue of cross border transactions involving book entry securities, mainly purchase and sale of shares, in order to assess the situation of the Brazilian post trading system and structure compared to other countries. There will be a description and analysis of domestic settlement structure and cross border structures involved in transactions with foreign elements. Other relevant topics are the legal consequences arising from securities immobilization and dematerialization and from the existence of intermediaries between the final investor and the issuer, frequent in cross-border transactions. The whole thesis considers the existing trends and efforts to harmonize legal rules, and the conclusion is that Brazilian rules and structure for securities settlement are sound, appropriate and meet the best international standards, although minor adjustments may be implemented.

A liquidação das operações internacionais com valores mobiliários suscita questões de grande relevância em decorrência das diferenças entre os sistemas jurídicos envolvidos e a pluralidade de participantes. O objetivo desta tese é analisar as normas jurídicas brasileiras em relação às estrangeiras relevantes, por força de operações transfronteiriças que tenham por objeto valores mobiliários escriturais, notadamente operações de compra e venda de ações, para verificar a situação do sistema jurídico brasileiro e sua estrutura de pós-negociação em relação a outros países. Haverá descrição e análise da estrutura de liquidação de operações domésticas e da estrutura envolvida em operação com componente estrangeiro. Como aspectos necessários para a compreensão do tema, abordam-se as consequências jurídicas decorrentes da imobilização e desmaterialização dos valores mobiliários e da interposição de intermediários entre o investidor final e o emissor dos valores mobiliários usual nas operações transfronteiriças. Todo o trabalho considera as tendências e esforços de harmonização das normas aplicáveis que vem ocorrendo no plano internacional, podendo-se verificar que as normas e estruturas brasileiras para liquidação de operações com valores mobiliários são sólidas, adequadas e precisam apenas de aprimoramentos pontuais para atingir os melhores padrões internacionais. / The settlement of international securities transactions raises important issues due to the differences among legal systems and the pluralism of participants involved. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Brazilian legal rules in relation to relevant foreign rules by virtue of cross border transactions involving book entry securities, mainly purchase and sale of shares, in order to assess the situation of the Brazilian post trading system and structure compared to other countries. There will be a description and analysis of domestic settlement structure and cross border structures involved in transactions with foreign elements. Other relevant topics are the legal consequences arising from securities immobilization and dematerialization and from the existence of intermediaries between the final investor and the issuer, frequent in cross-border transactions. The whole thesis considers the existing trends and efforts to harmonize legal rules, and the conclusion is that Brazilian rules and structure for securities settlement are sound, appropriate and meet the best international standards, although minor adjustments may be implemented.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / In South Africa the transfer and settlement processes associated with share transactions are essentially paper-based. The physical handling of the share certificate plays an important role in this regard. Foreign trends to reduce the movement of paper involve in broad terms the alternatives of dematerialisation and immobilisation of the share certificate. These developments cannot slavishly be followed without examining the legal nature of the South African share and share certificate. The process of immobilisation in a collective securities depository system involves no change in the nature of the shares. However, the use of a nominee where shares are held in safe custody forms a barrier between the shareholder and the issuer company which could dilute the shareholders' rights. This is even more applicable where shares are immobilised in a central depository. Further, although central depositories are based upon book-entries, they are still limited by the retention of the physical certificates. The development of electronic systems which dematerialise the share certificate must take into account the reasonable expectations of the public and should not be forced upon investors. The shareholder of a 'uncertificated' share must be placed, as far as possible, in the same position as if he had received a certificate. This requires legislation to amend present enactments and to define the rights of the shareholder. It is submitted that dematerialisation should gradually be phased in, starting with a voluntary dematerialisation in the case of holdings in the central securities depository. / In Suid-Afrika is die oordrag- en verrekeningsprosesse wat gepaardgaan met aandeletransaksies hoofsaaklik papiergebaseer. Die fisiese bantering van die aandelesertifikaat speel in die opsig 'n belangrike rol. Buitelandse pogings om die beweging van papier te verminder, neig in die algemene rigting van die dematerialisasie en immobilisasie van die aandelesertifikaat. Hierdie ontwikkelings kan nie slaafs nagevolg word sonder om die regsaard van die Suid-Afrikaanse aandeel en aandelesertifikaat te ondersoek nie. Die proses van immobilisasie in 'n kollektiewe bewaarnemerstelsel vir effekte wysig nie die aard van aandele nie. Nietemin plaas die gebruik van genomineerdes waar aandele in veilige bewaring gehou word 'n wig tussen die aandeelhouer en die uitreikermaatskappy wat die aandeelhouersregte kan verwater. Dit is selfs meer toepaslik waar aandele in 'n sentrale depot ge'lmmobiliseer word. Verder is dit so dat alhoewel sentrale depots op boekinskrywings gebaseer word, hul steeds beperk word deur die behoud van die fisiese sertifikate. Die ontwikkeling van elektroniese stelsels wat die aandelesertifikaat dematerialiseer moet rekening hou met die redelike verwagtinge van die publiek en behoort nie op beleggers afgedwing te word nie. Die aandeelhouer van 'n 'ongesertifiseerde' aandeel moet, so ver moontlik, in dieselfde posisie geplaas word asof hy 'n sertifikaat ontvang bet. Wetgewing is noodsaaklik om bestaande bepalings te wysig en die regte van die aandeelhouer te omskryf. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat dematerialisasie stelselmatig infaseer word - aanvanklik met 'n vrywillige dematerialisasie in die geval waar aandeelhouding in sentrale bewaameming is. / Private Law / LL.D.

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / In South Africa the transfer and settlement processes associated with share transactions are essentially paper-based. The physical handling of the share certificate plays an important role in this regard. Foreign trends to reduce the movement of paper involve in broad terms the alternatives of dematerialisation and immobilisation of the share certificate. These developments cannot slavishly be followed without examining the legal nature of the South African share and share certificate. The process of immobilisation in a collective securities depository system involves no change in the nature of the shares. However, the use of a nominee where shares are held in safe custody forms a barrier between the shareholder and the issuer company which could dilute the shareholders' rights. This is even more applicable where shares are immobilised in a central depository. Further, although central depositories are based upon book-entries, they are still limited by the retention of the physical certificates. The development of electronic systems which dematerialise the share certificate must take into account the reasonable expectations of the public and should not be forced upon investors. The shareholder of a 'uncertificated' share must be placed, as far as possible, in the same position as if he had received a certificate. This requires legislation to amend present enactments and to define the rights of the shareholder. It is submitted that dematerialisation should gradually be phased in, starting with a voluntary dematerialisation in the case of holdings in the central securities depository. / In Suid-Afrika is die oordrag- en verrekeningsprosesse wat gepaardgaan met aandeletransaksies hoofsaaklik papiergebaseer. Die fisiese bantering van die aandelesertifikaat speel in die opsig 'n belangrike rol. Buitelandse pogings om die beweging van papier te verminder, neig in die algemene rigting van die dematerialisasie en immobilisasie van die aandelesertifikaat. Hierdie ontwikkelings kan nie slaafs nagevolg word sonder om die regsaard van die Suid-Afrikaanse aandeel en aandelesertifikaat te ondersoek nie. Die proses van immobilisasie in 'n kollektiewe bewaarnemerstelsel vir effekte wysig nie die aard van aandele nie. Nietemin plaas die gebruik van genomineerdes waar aandele in veilige bewaring gehou word 'n wig tussen die aandeelhouer en die uitreikermaatskappy wat die aandeelhouersregte kan verwater. Dit is selfs meer toepaslik waar aandele in 'n sentrale depot ge'lmmobiliseer word. Verder is dit so dat alhoewel sentrale depots op boekinskrywings gebaseer word, hul steeds beperk word deur die behoud van die fisiese sertifikate. Die ontwikkeling van elektroniese stelsels wat die aandelesertifikaat dematerialiseer moet rekening hou met die redelike verwagtinge van die publiek en behoort nie op beleggers afgedwing te word nie. Die aandeelhouer van 'n 'ongesertifiseerde' aandeel moet, so ver moontlik, in dieselfde posisie geplaas word asof hy 'n sertifikaat ontvang bet. Wetgewing is noodsaaklik om bestaande bepalings te wysig en die regte van die aandeelhouer te omskryf. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat dematerialisasie stelselmatig infaseer word - aanvanklik met 'n vrywillige dematerialisasie in die geval waar aandeelhouding in sentrale bewaameming is. / Private Law / LL.D.