Based on its chapters, this introduction of International Actors and the Formation of Laws observes the discourse that creates, modifies, and reshapes the law as well as addresses actors that participate in that discourse. After addressing the point of departure shortly (Sect. 1), it first sets forth different international actors and their impact on the formation of laws (Sect. 2), and second, introduces the authors and the material scope of each chapter (Sect. 3). The introduction illuminates, the point demonstrated by the book, that in contemporary world law is mobile and emerges in the intersection of domestic, European, international, and even transnational legal regimes. It explains how the space for traditional domestic lawmaking shrinks and how the remaining bit becomes profoundly influenced by nondomestic factors. The book demonstrates that the product, the forming law, nevertheless bears the handprint of the actors participated in its formation. By noting the background of the authors as members of the Finnish Branch of International Law Association (ILA), the introduction acknowledges that the book presents pragmatism inherent to Nordic legal tradition.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-govermental body devoted to developing international standards for combatting money laundering as well as terrorist and proliferation financing. It is particularly known for its profoundly influential “40 Recommendations” and the grueling mutual evaluations to which member governments periodically subject each other. Despite the non-binding “soft law” nature of its Recommendations, the FATF has had an immense impact on the development of domestic laws in jurisdictions around the world. Some have sought to explain the FATF’s powers through its ability to penalize non-compliant jurisdictions through a “blacklisting” mechanism, while others have emphasized the softer, persuasive powers a co-operative expert organization can have on its members. This chapter explores the historical development of a particularly contentious FATF Recommendation on counterterrorism asset freezes and its implementation in the Nordic countries to provide a detailed example of how the FATF influences individual states—and how individual states, in turn, may influence the FATF.