Balancing the principles of consistency and legal certainty in independent regulation

Abstract

In independent market regulation the law-making function is conceptually distinct from the supervisory one. However, the use of semantically ambiguous formulas – such as the term «regulatory supervision», namely in the banking and financial sectors – contributed to blur this dividing line. Some recent developments accelerated the trend, such as the regulatory instrument of the «Single Rulebook», together with the direct application by European authorities of EU law and relevant (transposing or implementing) national law. The case studies examined stimulate a more general reflection on what should be the most appropriate balance between the principles of consistency and legal certainty in independent market regulation (and beyond).