Legal Research On IMF Conditionality

In the global economic system at present, the International Monetary Fund (IMF for short) bears the responsibility of the stabilization of the financial order and the promotion of the global economy's steady growth. Since the end of the World War II, IMF has contributed a lot in the preservation of the global financial order. After the 2008 American subprime crisis, as the authority of the international organization in the global financial system, IMF is becoming the focus points for the roles it plays in the coordination actions between the countries, however, in a series of rescue programs, IMF has been criticized for the harsh IMF conditionality, hence appeals for the reform of IMF conditionality has become more and more strong. According to the objectives of IMF, the fundamental aim of IMF is the coordination or promotion in the realization of the balance on international payments. When IMF provides loan to the member countries to help them improve the international payment situations, it comes along with a series of conditions and a set of loan procedures which is constituted by decision mechanism and voting right assignment, here the IMF conditionality refers to the organic integrity of loan conditions and the loan procedure.IMF, which is mainly dominated by the western development countries ,has been questioned and criticized for its harsh conditions and the challenge to the member country's economic sovereign rights .Facing the frequent financial crisis around the world, IMF is at loss about what to do, then the appeals for the reform of IMF conditionality make it in the teeth of the storm. In recent years, no matter the member countries or inside of IMF are all prone to reform the IMF conditionality ,and some measures have already been implemented but at present the effect of it is not ideal, especially the problems existed in the procedure and substation. This even induce the masses of Greece people protesting the Greece government accepting IMF's financial support in the 2010 Greece sovereign debt crisis.This paper is mainly talking about the legal issues concerning about IMF conditionality, and use the following research methods: historical analysis, normative analysis, empirical analysis , observation and description .There are five parts of it ,which includes:In the first part, it gives a macro introduction of the IMF conditionality, through the statement of the goals and functions of IMF, the types of IMF loan, it defines the substance and procedures of IMF conditionality, then puts forward the author's own understanding of the definition of it. In the second part, seeing from empirical point of view and seeing from the expression of IMF in the 2010 Greece sovereign debt crisis. In the third part, it adopts the methods of historical analysis and normative analysis to analyze the procedure of IMF conditionality ,including the discussion on the quota distribution and decision rights. In the forth part ,it discusses the most controversial problem of IMF conditionality-the challenge to the member countries'economic sovereign rights brought by the IMF conditionality, in respect of a legal analysis. In the last part of this paper, through the detailed discussion of IMF conditionality's substance and procedure, with a combination of the global economic development trend, it puts forward a series of legal advice on the reform of IMF conditionality ,respecting to promote the reform of IMF conditionality and establish a more fair and reasonable international economic order.