This article examines the scope of protection provided by sovereign immunity rules for two core economic crisis prevention and resolution measures: central banks’ efforts to stabilize the economy, in particular through foreign exchange reserves, and sovereign debt crisis resolution through so-called debt restructuring. The aim is to analyse how sovereign immunity rules may influence a state’s monetary power, defined as its capacity to effectively prevent and solve economic crises. What we see is that while central bank policies are largely shielded, sovereign debt restructuring measures are not protected by sovereign immunity rules. A consequence is that the states most in need of crisis resolution tools are those least protected by immunity. The article seeks to critically examine why the protection of two economic crisis prevention and resolution measures has evolved in different directions, including asking whether sovereign financing can be treated separately from monetary policy when discussing economic crisis resolution measures.
European Business Law Review