The financial crisis has reignited the debate on how to best strike a balance between private ordering and regulatory intervention. As a matter of legislative technique this requires a policy decision whether a ‘rules’ or a ‘principles’ approach should be pursued. It is therefore with considerable foresight that Professors Lord Eatwell and Kern Alexander of the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge organised a conference on ‘Principles v. Rules in Financial Regulation’, which took place in Cambridge from 11 to 12 April 2008. This issue carries a conference report by Kern Alexander and major contributions by Steven L. Schwarcz, Edward J. Kane and David G. Mayes.