ABSTRACT
Before going on to examine these matters in detail, it may be helpful to mention the legislative intention and approach underlying these provisions.6 During the proceedings of the House of Commons Standing
Committee B, which considered the ‘Criminal Justice Bill [Lords]’, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury8 said that the Bill ‘... rewrites the law on insider dealing ... The proposals ... will bring our law into line with the EC directive on the subject9 which requires all Member States to make insider dealing illegal ...’.10 Later, he commented thus on the ‘difficult balancing act’ which the government had had to perform in formulating the Bill: ‘Not only must we crack down on insider dealing but we must be seen to be doing so effectively and must send the right deterrent messages to the financial services industry. Furthermore, we must not inhibit unreasonably the legitimate practices and expertise of those in the City of London and the financial services industry in general ...’.11
