NCJ Number
203216
Date Published
2003
Length
179 pages
Annotation
This monograph provides an overview of the elements of litigation that involve the Federal securities laws, with attention to the issues that are most likely to arise in such litigation, i.e., basic registration, disclosure, and antifraud provisions.
Abstract
An introductory chapter reviews the history and content of the Federal securities law, describes the function of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and discusses sources of litigation, self-regulation, and private remedies. The second chapter focuses on the scope and reach of the securities laws. Of the seven Federal securities statutes, the acts referred to most often in this monograph are the Securities Act of 1933, which regulates the distribution of securities; and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which regulates issuers, securities professionals, and the securities markets. The 1933 and 1934 acts, as with other securities statutes, are evolving laws. A chapter on the 1933 act has sections on the structure of the act, the registration process delineated by the act, disclosure requirements in securities offerings, exemptions from registration under the act, liabilities specified in the act, and securities class actions. The chapter on the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 first considers the scope of the act, followed by a more detailed explanation of its mandates. This includes sections on the prohibition of manipulative activities, the Federal regulation of proxies and proxy solicitation in shareholder voting, tender offers and takeover bids under the Williams Act, liabilities under the act, insider trading, and regulation of the marketplace and securities professionals. 5 references, a table of cases, and appended statutory conversion charts