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This paper, without pretending to exhaust the subject and from a general perspective, has the goal of presenting a legal theory about bonds as negotiable instruments pursuant to the Fi-nancial, Insurance and Securities Market regu-lations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insider trading is one of the most harmful conducts within the stock market given the inequity it represents for the investors and the mistrust it can cause amongst them, which is why such practice has been is severely punished internationally. This article analyzes the rules and laws that forbid it in Colombia, both at the administrative and criminal levels, and also intends to determine the true effectiveness or practical application of such dispositions that prohibit it. For such purposes the American experience is brought up illustrating the reader with the huge development the subject has had in such country, particularly in a case precedent level, in order to contrast the extensive treatment it has been given there with the scarce precedents to be found regarding such matter in Colombia. As part of the purpose described above, the text studies the phrasing of the prohibition in the criminal and administrative scenarios, the limitations derived from it, the nature of the penalties it contemplates and the way they have been interpreted and applied by the Colombian authorities in the few penalized cases we have had. In the same line of thought, the article also studies the obligation that issuing companies have of disclosing material information to the market as well as of the way in which they must proceed in order to disclose information regarding transactions in motion to protect the market and its transparency. It approaches the conflicts of rule interpretation regarding insider trading in Colombia, as well as in USA, and that the regulating authorities must confront everywhere. The article pursuits to be a warning in the sense that, with this one, like with many other subjects, the abundance of rules and laws is useless, if they have no application in practice, thus conducing to a disturbing lack of protection for the market investors and, consequently, discourages the development of the stock market in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most recent reports about the financial derivatives market indicate that the Colombian and International financial derivatives OTC Markets trade a significantly higher volume as compared with the organized markets. The OTC market has gradually developed standard legal provisions and procedures, largely in part as a result of the consolidation of Master Agreements and the work of international associations such as the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). Notwithstanding the worldwide standardization process, the Colombian OTC derivatives market shows a low level of standardization and convergence. This creates obstacles for the consolidation of the markets and increases the legal and economic risks for market participants. This article analyses the structure and evolution of Master Agreements; some of the main legal issues related to such agreements and their effects from a Colombian legal perspective; and the current status and prospects of the Master Agreements in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Securities trading systems and clearance and settlement systems support the adequate performance of the securities market, specifically in the exchange of securities that is developed in the secondary market, the place where investors participate buying or selling securities already issued. To achieve this adequate performance, the cycles that constitute the market must interact in a coordinated way. Such cycles are, the negotiation cycle which comprises the mechanisms that allows bids and offers to match, and the clearance and settlement cycle which includes all the procedures for providing securities to the buyer and money to the seller. This article reviews the legal framework of (i) the securities trading systems and trade report systems, including the stock exchanges and the partnerships that manages trading systems, and (ii) clearance and settlements systems, including the legal regime of central counterparties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the phenomenon of self-regulation and its diverse manifestations. Particularly, it develops a general framework for the concept of self-regulation within capital markets, its general evolution, principles, existing schemes, advantages and disadvantages. It is argued that the scope and depth of self-regulation depends on the degree of existing intervention in a society. Also it is argued that self-regulation does not imply an unknowing of the Government, nor supplants its functions, but that are a complement of it. Finally the document presents the legal development of self-regulation in Colombia and approaches constitutional jurisprudence on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]