Civil Liability for Market Abuse in the UK

This chapter discusses investor remedies for insider dealing and market manipulation under UK statutory law, at common law, and in equity. It is customary to include under the heading of civil liability all forms of liability outside the ambit of criminal law. Civil liability describes the various means of civil redress which are available to investors in the UK and which may be exercised directly by them. Relevant means of redress include statutory actions for compensation, restitution, and contract annulment; petitions to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme, which has, inter alia, the...

This chapter discusses investor remedies for insider dealing and market manipulation under UK statutory law, at common law, and in equity. It is customary to include under the heading of civil liability all forms of liability outside the ambit of criminal law. Civil liability describes the various means of civil redress which are available to investors in the UK and which may be exercised directly by them. Relevant means of redress include statutory actions for compensation, restitution, and contract annulment; petitions to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme, which has, inter alia, the power to grant monetary awards; and common law actions in damages, equitable claims for breach of fiduciary duties, and restitutionary remedies. The chapter examines the civil liability framework that deals with market abuse in the UK and identifies its inadequacies with respect to the availability and scope of investor remedies; an enforcement loophole, which inevitably prejudices the effectiveness of the relevant deterrence mechanisms.