Leniency policies are seen as a revolution in contemporary anti-cartel law enforcement. Unique to competition law, these policies are regarded as essential to detecting, punishing and deterring business collusion - conduct that subverts competition at national and global levels. Featuring contributions from leading scholars, practitioners and enforcers from around the world, this book probes the almost universal adoption and zealous defence of leniency policies by many competition authorities and others. It charts the origins of and impetuses for the leniency movement, captures key insights from academic research and practical experience relating to the operation and effectiveness of leniency policies and examines leniency from the perspectives of corporate and individual applicants, advisers and authorities. The book also explores debates surrounding the intersections between leniency and other crucial elements of the enforcement system such as compensation, compliance and criminalisation. The rich critical analysis in the book draws on the disciplines of law, regulation, economics and criminology. It makes a substantial and distinctive contribution to the literature on a topic that is highly significant to a wide range of actors in the field of competition law and business regulation generally. From the Foreword by Professor Frederic Jenny ' ... fundamental questions are raised and thoroughly discussed in this book which is undoubtedly the most comprehensive scholarly work on leniency policies produced so far ... [the] book should be required reading for all seeking to acquire a deeper insight into the issues related to leniency policy. It is a priceless contribution ... '

Major developments have recently taken place in competition and antitrust policy in both the UK and EU. Following an informative overview, this timely volume presents authoritative accounts of recent changes and clear analyses of current policy. As well as discussing new developments in policy towards monopolies, mergers, cartels and state aids, it features chapters on the treatment of vertical restraints and regulated industries. The text also includes a discussion of the relationship between competition policy and intellectual property rights, and concludes with a forward-looking assessment. Offering a concise account of competition policy developments, this monograph will be of great interest to academics in business and economics, as well as lawyers in both jurisdictions.

Although cross-border industrial sub-contracting is the main tool of industrial organisation in the global economy, practitioners in this important field are significantly hampered by a lack of uniform rules. This book offers a first step in discerning and formulating a framework for such rules, based on the experience of counsel for both contractors and sub-contractors in over twenty countries worldwide. It consists of the final papers, subsequently revised by the presenters, delivered at a conference held in Florence, in February 2000, under the auspices of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and the Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (AIJA). Other essays present the basic legal issues from a comparative perspective and clarify the fundamental distinctions in the points of view of the contractor and the sub-contractor. Individual contributions from practitioners in twenty countries (encompassing EU countries, the United States, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region) detail applicable domestic laws so that the user can determine points of difference, common aspects, and potential pitfalls in most of the world's major industrial sub-contracting jurisdictions. "Handbook on Cross-Border Industrial Sub-Contracting will be of great value of lawyers and business people everywhere engaged in this all-important area of today's legal practice.

Although it is commonly assumed that consumers benefit from the application of competition law, this is not necessarily always the case. Economic efficiency is paramount; thus, competition law in Europe and antitrust law in the United States are designed primarily to protect business competitors (and in Europe to promote market integration), and it is only incidentally that such law may also serve to protect consumers. That is the essential starting point of this penetrating critique. The author explores the extent to which US antitrust law and EC competition law adequately safeguard consumer interests. Specifically, he shows how the two jurisdictions have gone about evaluating collusive practices, abusive conduct by dominant firms and merger activity, and how the policies thus formed have impacted upon the promotion of consumer interests. He argues that unless consumer interests are directly and specifically addressed in the assessment process, maximization of consumer welfare is not sufficiently achieved. Using rigorous analysis he develops legal arguments that can accomplish such goals as the following: - replace the economic theory of 'consumer welfare' with a principle of consumer well-being; - build consumer benefits into specific areas of competition policy; - assess competition cases so that income distribution effects are more beneficial to consumers; and - control mergers in such a way that efficiencies are passed directly to consumers. The author argues that, in the last analysis, the promotion of consumer well-being should be the sole or at least the primary goal of any antitrust regime. Lawyers and scholars interested in the application and development and reform of competition law and policy will welcome this book. They will find not only a fresh approach to interpretation and practice in their field - comparing and contrasting two major systems of competition law - but also an extremely lucid analysis of the various economic arguments used to highlight the consumer welfare enhancing or welfare reducing effects of business practices.

Since 1985, the Member States of the European Union have enacted new national competition laws, or amended their existing competition laws, so that these laws are now all more or less converging upon the EC competition rules as laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty and in the Concentration Control Regulation 4064/89/EC (as amended by Regulation 1310/97/EC). This is a comprehensive textbook of the Competition Laws of the Member States of the European Union and of Switzerland. It is believed to be the first of its kind to include in one text all aspects of competition law of all countries concerned, i.e. the substantive rules on restrictions of competition and abuse of dominance as well as the rules on concentration control. In respect of both issues, the rules of procedure and enforcement are also set out. In addition, the reader will find a short synopsis per country of the powers of special sectorial regulators (if any) in fields such as telecommunication, energy, broadcasting and public transport. Finally, the substantive and procedural rules of Switzerland have been included in this work, that country being an important trading partner for almost all Member States and being geographically encircled by the EU. Written by competition law specialists from each Member State and from Switzerland, the work has been set up to be as practical and informative as possible. Not only has the existing legal framework been described - with footnotes referencing landmark decisions; annexes providing practical information and "charts" on the decision making process in each country - but, also, where appropriate, it has been explained how the legal system works in practice. As such, this work should be interesting to all private practitioners, in-house lawyers, bankers, accountants, tax advisers and to all others who come across competition law in their daily course of business.

This timely book brings together contributions from prominent scholars and practitioners to the ongoing debate on the criminalization of competition law enforcement. Recognizing that existing remedies and sanctions may be insufficient to deter breaches of competition law, several EU Member States have followed the US example and introduced pecuniary penalties for executives, professional disqualification orders, and even jail sentences. Addressing issues such as unsolved legal puzzles, standard of proof, leniency programs and internal cartel stability, this book is a marker for future policy debate. With perspectives from an international cast of contributors, Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement will be of great interest to academics and policy makers as well as students and practitioners in law.

What drives popular support for state-enforced competition policy? What is it about antitrust law that garners approval from both the public and courts, to the point of demonizing large firms convicted of antitrust offenses? This book argues that the populist roots of antitrust are still with us, guiding sentiment towards a legal regime that has otherwise shifted towards economic analysis. Antitrust is very much about fairness and morality, and the book assesses how modern policy has hijacked popular support - based on traditional conceptions of political and economic power - to combat market power in narrowly defined micro-markets. Beginning with history, but delving into moral and political philosophy, the book shows how arguments concerning fairness in antitrust - applied both to monopolists and their victims - require a balancing test, based on context and respecting the rights of both. While, traditionally, fairness arguments were used to justify intervention where economic analysis did not, the book assesses them from first principles, to show that pure efficiency analysis is flawed from a moral standpoint when the state intervenes. Protecting weak consumers from strong monopolists may carry rhetorical weight, but the reality of antitrust is that the state is much more powerful than almost all firms it regulates. Protecting the strong from the weak, especially when 'weak' consumers hold legal power and influence, might very well be a moral imperative. Fairness in Antitrust offers a philosophical account of the conundrum facing competition policy, which challenges widely-held - yet often implicit and unfounded - beliefs. (Series: Hart Studies in Competition Law)

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the immediate and likely longer-term consequences of Brexit for the UK's competition law regime and includes the competition and subsidy control provisions of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It has been written to be of value to scholars and practitioners of competition law, whilst also providing a useful guide to readers with only limited understanding of competition rules. The book provides a detailed critical discussion of how Brexit impacts on five key aspects of competition policy in the UK: legislation, institutions and cooperation; antitrust rules that prohibit anti-competitive agreements and the abuse of a dominant position; private enforcement, in particular actions for damages; regulation of mergers and acquisitions; and State aid or subsidy control rules.

This is the first book to examine the significance of European Union antitrust law for the future of sport in Europe. Drawing on multi-disciplinary perspectives from law, economics, sport management and politics, and including case studies about the European Super League (ESL) and the International Skating Union, the book explores key themes in contemporary sport, including governance, ownership and control; the European sport model; the regulatory autonomy of sports organisations; and the relationship between public policy, the law and sport. This is important reading for any advanced student, researcher, policy-maker or practitioner with an interest in sport management, sport law, European law or European politics.

As of October 2008, liner shipping companies lose their privileged status under EU competition law due to withdrawal of the liner conference block exemption, which generously authorized horizontal price-fixing and similar agreements between liner shipping companies. Where the liner consortia block exemption does not apply, all cooperative activity should be carefully and individually assessed under the competition provisions of the EC Treaty. Alla Pozdnakova has taken this opportunity to research and write an in-depth study of competition law problems in the liner shipping context. Her analysis is not only the first to examine the new European regime, and thus the most up-to-date study of the subject; it is in fact the first major independent study of how Articles 81 and 82 EC are construed and applied to the market conduct of liner shipping companies. In particular, the author addresses the following legal questions:A* Does cooperation between liner shipping companies infringe Article 81(1) even if it does not entail hard-core restrictions of competition?A * Can a cooperative arrangement between liner shipping companies claim that the efficiencies they produce outweigh the negative impact on competition (Article 81(3))?A* When do certain market strategies of liner carriers become an abuse of a collective or individual dominant position (Article 82)?A* Does parallel pricing behaviour infringe EC Treaty competition rules?Systematically, the author considers various market strategies of liner shipping companies and tests them as to their compatibility with EC Treaty competition provisions. In doing so, she thoroughly analyses European Commission decisions and judgments of the European courts, applying them authoritatively to the liner shipping sector. In this way, her book provides a well-structured account that clearly identifies the legal issues that liner shipping companies are likely to face once the special treatment traditionally allowed them is withdrawn. A summary of current and prospective developments in EU competition regulation and policy in liner shipping rounds up the analysis.Liner Shipping and EU Competition Law will be a unique and powerful resource for practitioners and policymakers as liner shipping companies restructure their agreements and market strategies to accommodate loss of the block exemption. It is also sure to become a definitive analysis of the legal identity of the liner shipping market sector under European competition law.

In the last few years, the public enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC has been thoroughly transformed: the competition authorities of the EU Member States have become active enforcers within the European Competition Network, the European Commission has imposed more and higher fines than ever before, leniency has become a major instrument of cartel detection, and some Member States have introduced criminal penalties. The overall trend towards more and stronger enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC has also rekindled discussion on the old question of how to strike the right balance between efficient enforcement and adequate protection of the rights of the defence. This book brings together six essays which analyse from both a legal and an economic perspective the powers of investigation of the European Commission and the competition authorities of the Member States, and the corresponding procedural rights and guarantees, the use of settlements, the theory and practice of fines and of leniency, and the criminalization of European antitrust enforcement.

In recent years European Community (EC) competition law has come under fire. Continued criticism of all aspects of the means by which EC competition law is enforced has brought to light ineffectiveness of the present system. Consequently the European Commission has responded by issuing the "White Paper on Modernisation",which sets out its vision on the future of EC competition law. This new book takes a step back, and tries to understand the current challenges to EC competition policy by examining the origins of the Community's competition law system. In the first part of the book the author sketches the development of Community competition law enforcement between the European Economic Community, established in 1958, and the European Union of today. Taking this dynamic perspective on EC competition law, the second part of the book addresses topical problems of EC competition policy; the pertinent objectives, the institutional framework, the division of jurisdiction between the Community and Member States, and decentralised enforcement of Community law. Notably, the author's conclusions diverge considerably from the analysis found in the Commission White Paper on Modernisation. The author proposes various alternative solutions to the existing problems which, arguably, fit better within the overall constitutional development of the Community than the solutions offered by the Commission. The book will be of interest to competition lawyers as well as to all those interested in the constitutional development of the European Community.

Public procurement and competition law are both important fields of EU law and policy, intimately intertwined in the creation of the internal market. Hitherto their close connection has been noted, but not closely examined. This work is the most comprehensive attempt to date to explain the many ways in which these fields, often considered independent of one another, interact and overlap in the creation of the internal market. This process of convergence between competition and public procurement law is particularly apparent in the 2014 Directives on public procurement, which consolidate the principle of competition in terms very close to those advanced by the author in the first edition. This second edition builds upon this approach and continues to ask how competition law principles inform and condition public procurement rules, and whether the latter (in their revised form) are adequate to ensure that competition is not distorted. The second edition also deepens the analysis of the market behaviour of the public buyer from a competition perspective. Proceeding through a careful assessment of the general rules of competition and public procurement, the book constantly tests the efficacy of these rules against a standard of the proper functioning of undistorted competition in the market for public procurement. It also traces the increasing relevance of competition considerations in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and sets out criteria and recommendations to continue influencing the development of EU Economic Law.

The growing use of private labels in recent years has affected significantly the landscape of retail competition, with major retailers no longer being confined to their traditional role as purchasers and distributors of branded goods. By selling their own-label products within their outlets they are competing with their upstream brand suppliers for sales and shelf space. This unique relationship, and the continued strengthening of private labels, raises important questions as to their pro-competitive effects and possible negative effects.
This book provides an in-depth review of the range of competitive and intellectual property issues raised in connection with private brands in Europe and the US. It examines the development of private labels and their impact on retail competition, then moves on to focus on policy and questions the adequacy of current economic and legal analysis in light of the characteristics of own-label competition, and finally it presents a thorough evaluation of the legal issues in the field, including chapters on horizontal and vertical effects, dominance, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, copycat packaging and consumer welfare.
The book contains a collection of essays reflecting the debate on the impact of private labels upon competition, investment and innovation in the retail sector. The ideas and arguments underlying the articles have been developed through a series of seminars held in the Oxford Centre for Competition Law and Policy over the last three years. Participants in these seminars have included competition officials, law academics, practitioners and representatives from industry.

The Japanese government is becoming less involved in shaping industrial policy - but what does this imply for the openness of Japanese markets to foreign competition?;In an extensive study of "post-development" Japan, Ulrike Schaede argues that, contrary to what many have suggested, the reduced role of government regulation may not result in more open markets. Instead, as has happened throughout Japanese history, deregulation and the recession of the 1990s have once again led Japanese trade associations to assume important regulatory functions of their own. They do this through "self-regulation" - setting and enforcing the rules of trade for their industries, independent from the government. As a result, many Japanese markets are now effectively governed by incumbent firms, in particular in terms of structuring the distribution system. As the record of post-war antitrust enforcement reveals, Japan's antitrust system considers most activities of self-regulation, other than outright price-fixing, as legal.

Timely new edition, set to publish shortly after Brexit to make it up to date with all reforms relating to competition law in the UK and EU Written to be easily accessible to both law undergraduate students and students in related disciplines (such as Business) with straightforward language and any technical terminology fully explained in a supporting glossary. Provides historical context and contemporary information on competition law as well as covering current developments in policy Fully up-to-date and addresses emerging topics including the damages directive, digital markets and Brexit.

This book is Volume II of a two-volume set on antitrust policy, analyzing the economic efficiency and moral desirability of various kinds of antitrust-policy-coverable conduct and various possible government responses to such conduct, including US and EU antitrust law. The overall study consists of three parts. Part I (Chapters 1-8) introduces readers to the economic, moral, and legal concepts that play important roles in antitrust-policy analysis. Part II (Chapters 9-16) analyzes the impacts of eight types of conduct covered by antitrust policy and various possible government responses to such conduct in terms of their economic efficiency, their impact on liberal moral rights, and their instantiation of various utilitarian and other egalitarian conceptions of the moral good. Part III (Chapters 17-18) provides detailed information on US antitrust law and EU competition law and compares the extent to which-when correctly interpreted and applied-these two bodies of law could increase economic efficiency, protect liberal moral rights, and instantiate various morally defensible conceptions of the moral good. This second volume contains the last 6 chapters of Part II, which focus respectively on horizontal (M&A)s, conglomerate (M&A)s, surrogates for vertical integration, vertical (M&A)s, joint ventures, and internal growth and Part III, which focuses on US antitrust law and EU competition law. The book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students of economics and law who are interested in welfare economics, antitrust policy, and The General Theory of Second Best.

The European Commission's recent green paper on damages actions for breach of EC antitrust rules stirred a debate across Europe on the need for legal reform that would encourage private plaintiffs to claim compensation for losses suffered as a result of anticompetitive conduct. Prominent in the wake of that initiative was the international conference convened by the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg in April 2006, the papers and proceedings of which are presented in this important book. Among the topics and issues raised and discussed here are the following: the 2001 Courage judgment of the European Court of Justice, in which the court decided that everyone who suffers losses from a violation of arts. 81 or 82 EC is entitled to compensation; relevance of the case law that contributes to general principles of European tort law; comparative analysis from the more comprehensive experience of national laws in the United States, Germany, France, and Italy; calculation of damages; passing-on of losses sustained in an upstream market to customers in a downstream market; procedural devices which may help to overcome the lack of implementation; duties of disclosure and the burden of proof; collective actions that may help to overcome the rational abstention of individuals; pitfalls of leniency programmes implemented by national competition authorities; and, issues of jurisdiction and choice of law. The lively debates that followed the presentations at the conference are also recorded here. Although more discussion will be needed before a viable legal framework in this area begins to emerge, these ground-breaking contributions by lawyers of various disciplines, jurists, economists, academics, and European policymakers take a giant step forward. For lawyers, academics, and officials engaged with this important area of international law, this book clearly improves our understanding of the economic need and legal particularities which could generate an effective European system of private antitrust litigation.

This latest monograph by Professor Korah on the recent group exemption consists of a detailed and critical commentary on the technology transfer block exemption and guidelines of 2004, and of the case law of the ECJ and Commission on licensing and refusals to license, together with annotated copies of the regulation and guidelines. There is a substantial chapter on refusal to supply or license in the light of the recent case law under Article 82. It embraces many of the competition issues that may affect intellectual property rights. After a brief introduction, the work starts with short chapters on the free movement of goods and services, the status of the Commission's guidelines and the historically hostile attitude of the Commission under Article 81 towards licensing. It then launches into a detailed analysis of the regulation and the probable treatment of licences that do not fall within it. Throughout the book the author provides extensive analysis of policy and economics as well as comparison with US practice.

This book provides a comprehensive practitioner guide to the EU law of State aid, covering all relevant legislation, case law, and the dominant themes shaping EU State aid policy. It discusses the concept of State aid and its development in the European Union, as well as practical aspects such as procedures for notification to the European Commission, and enforcement in the European Court and national courts. It offers extensive coverage of specific sectors, including transport and shipbuilding, media and communications, energy and environmental protection, culture and heritage, and agriculture. The third edition is fully updated to cover the extensive legislative changes in this area, including the new General Block Exemption Regulation and De Minimis Regulation, horizontal aid guidelines, and sectoral guidelines for aviation, cinemas, agriculture, and fisheries; as well as State aid cases in the national courts, particularly the UK, and recent European Court jurisprudence. Accessible to competition lawyers and non-specialists, the book's clarity and concision make it an invaluable reference to this area of law.