Soft rulemaking through multi-level administrative practice: replicating the aesthetics of law

The complexity and the dynamic evolution of global finance require forms of transnational regulation that do not rely solely on traditional lawmaking and call for the participation of actors at multiple levels. One of the examples of these forms is regulation through legally non-binding guidelines and recommendations produced by the European Supervisory Authorities and enforced by national authorities. Even if these soft law acts cannot be considered as law in the traditional sense, their real impact is very much law-like. The only distinction from traditional legal acts seems to be the non-mandatory wording and the lack of direct enforceability or judicial control. Otherwise, these acts replicate the aesthetics of law. This article argues that the entire transnational administrative practice, which consists of soft rulemaking and the effective enforcement of such rules, is powerful because it successfully mimics law-making and law enforcement procedures.