Astrid Iversen

Iversen, Astrid (2024)

The European Central Bank and the European Macroeconomic Constitution

European Constitutional Law Review Doi: 10.1017/S1574019623000317

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

Unilateral responses to an international problem: sustainable sovereign debt restructuring and the case for second-best solutions

Capital Markets Law Journal, 18(3), s. 402- 425. Doi: 10.1093/cmlj/kmad012

Sovereign borrowing can contribute to economic and social development and help achieve economic stability in any state.1 All states borrow, for example, to promote development, invest in infrastructure, fund warfare, as a monetary policy tool to ensure price stability, ensure that a government has sufficient cash reserves and to develop and maintain a well-functioning domestic financial market.2 States can borrow money from other states and international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They can also borrow money in the commercial markets, from private banks or through issuing bonds. As is the case with private individuals and corporate debtors, states sometimes default on their payment obligations.3 There are many reasons why states may default and end up in a debt crisis, including poor economic management, external economic shocks, civil wars and natural disasters, to name just a few.4 Throughout history, states have regularly faced severe economic distress and debt crisis. Debt burdens have been high since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008. The direct and indirect cost of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a further increase in unsustainable debt burdens, particularly in the Global South. The global COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent event to reveal the major gaps in sovereign debt crisis resolution architecture. The pandemic has had severe consequences: millions of lives have been lost, economic activity globally has been severely disrupted and has forced over 100 million people into poverty.5 In 2020, when the pandemic spread globally, it did not trigger a wave of sovereign debt defaults. However, most states borrowed significantly in order to respond to the pandemic, and by 2022, these states were facing higher interest rates and volatile market conditions. In fact, according to the IMF, 2020 had the largest 1-year debt surge since World War II, with global debt rising to USD 226 trillion as the world was hit by a global health crisis and a deep recession

Iversen, Astrid & Andenæs, Mads (2023)

Sovereign Powers and Debt Crisis Resolution

L'Observateur des Nations Unies, 53(2), s. 17- 36.

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

Intercreditor Equity in Sovereign Debt Restructuring

Oxford University Press.

The book provides a comprehensive legal study of intercreditor equity—rules providing for equal and differential treatment of creditors—in sovereign debt restructurings. The question of intercreditor equity is one of the most conflictual issues in debt restructuring, both historically and today. It is paramount to creditors in the unfortunate event of a debt restructuring and it is equally important to debtor states so that they can manage restructuring processes as efficiently as possible and ensure a sustainable debt crisis resolution. The first aim of the book is to map and establish the content of intercreditor equity rules and analyse how they influence restructuring processes. This helps creditors improve their prediction of their legal rights and calculate the returns on their investments. It also improves a sovereign debtor’s understanding of the boundaries within which its debt restructuring offer must be designed and is instructive when drafting future sovereign debt instruments. Second, and equally important, the book sheds light on the functioning of the legal framework governing sovereign debt more broadly. It raises the question of whether intercreditor equity rules and the surrounding legal framework of sovereign debt restructuring are compatible with a debtor state’s possibility to ensure monetary and financial stability and establish sustainable debt burdens. In sum, the book seeks to go beyond the common platitude that ‘equal treatment’ is the crux of a successful debt restructuring process by showing that equal treatment is an ambiguous concept that is context- and rule-specific, and does not necessarily guarantee a sustainable debt restructuring.

Iversen, Astrid (2022)

Removing Barriers to Climate Change Litigation: The Progressive Erosion of Central Banks’ Immunity

European Yearbook of International Economic Law Doi: 10.1007/8165_2022_98 - Full text in research archive

Iversen, Astrid & Franchini, Daniel (2024)

Frozen Russian Assets to Finance Ukraine: Collateralization Instead of Confiscation

[Article in business/trade/industry journal]. Lawfare Blog

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

The rights of individuals (creditors) in the context of sovereign debt restructurings from a rule of law perspective

[Academic lecture]. The rule of law and the rights of individuals: current state of play, Universita Degli Studi di Cagliari.

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

Likebehanlding av kreditorer ved restrukturering av statlig gjeld

[Academic lecture]. Bokpresentasjon, Juridisk fakultet, Universitetet i Oslo.

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

Economic crisis resolution & monetary power - sovereign immunity rules concerning central banks and sovereign debt

[Academic lecture]. Interest Group on International Economic Law, ESIL confernce 2023.

Iversen, Astrid (2023)

Intercreditor Equity in Sovereign Debt Restructuring

[Academic lecture]. Book discussion, Sciences Po Law School.