Part VI International Monetary Law and the International Financial Architecture, XXXIX The International Monetary Fund: Objectives, Organization, and Functions

Subject(s):

Investment — Investor — International monetary law

This chapter presents an overview of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well as the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF was established to ensure a stable international monetary system as a basis of international trade and capital movements, to foster a sound economic growth, and to contribute to a stable monetary regime of Member States. The IMF Agreement was negotiated at the Conference of Bretton Woods (1944). The main functions of the IMF Agreement are twofold: coordination and surveillance of monetary relations, in particular of exchange rate policies; and assistance to members in economic difficulties. Under the IMF Agreement, stable exchange currency arrangements and the free convertibility of currencies are cornerstones of international monetary relations.