This new working paper by Evariest Callens develops two arguments in relation to the definition of derivative contracts under EU Law. First, it argues that derivatives definitions in EU law do not identify any distinctive conceptual properties of derivatives and, instead, only provide a circular description of what derivatives may be. Secondly, it submits that this conceptually unsatisfactory approach is symptomatic for a more fundamental deficit in the conceptual underpinnings of derivatives. By exploring the relation between the derivatives definitions in EU law and the conceptual properties of derivatives, this paper seeks to uncover some of the conceptual impurities in the premises on which the major overhaul of EU derivatives legislation has been built.
The working paper is now available in the European Banking Institute Working Paper Series.