How has the evolution and transformation of the Common Market affected the legal concept of State aid? How has State aid adapted to the development of the European Union? These questions and more are answered in Juan Jorge Piernas Lopez's examination of the historical, political, constitutional, and economical events that have affected the development of State aid in the EU. Examining three key, interwoven arguments, this book provides a richer understanding of current formulas which depict the concept of aid through the prism of policy and enforcement considerations. First, the book demonstrates that the concept of aid is a 'living instrument' that has been applied in accordance with the main policy priorities of the European Commission. Second, contrary to what has been affirmed in other literature, the evolution of this concept has been influenced by the broader advancement of the case law of the Court of Justice in different periods of the integration process. Third, the author contends that the study of the evolution of the concept of aid in light of policy and case law provides a holistic outlook valuable to the decision making process of difficult cases. In this regard, the book provides criteria to interpret and discuss cases including Sloman Neptun, Philip Morris, and Azores, beyond the analysis traditionally adopted in this field.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. With technology standards becoming increasingly common, particularly in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, the complexities and contradictions at the interface of intellectual property law and competition law have emerged strongly. This book talks about how the regulatory agencies and courts in the United States, European Union and India are dealing with the rising allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by standard essential patent (SEP) holders. It also discusses the role of standards setting organizations / standards developing organizations (SSO/SDO) and the various players involved in implementing the standards that influence practices and internal dynamics in the ICT sector. This book includes discussions on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms and the complexities that arise when both licensors and licensees of SEPs differ on what they mean by "fair", "reasonable" and "non-discriminatory" terms. It also addresses topics such as the appropriate royalty base, calculation of FRAND rates and concerns related to FRAND commitments and the role of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in collaborative standard setting process. This book provides a wide range of valuable information and is a useful tool for graduate students, academics and researchers.

Competition Law and Policy in the Middle East examines and critically analyses the development and role of competition law and policy in one of the most interesting regions of the world. The importance of the Middle East within the global political and economic arenas gives this book huge international significance and interest. The book will prove useful to a variety of audiences around the world: to the competition law specialists, to the students of the subject, to policy-makers and politicians in the Middle East and to those whose work deals with law and economics and who wish to know more about competition law and policy in this special part of the world.

This edited volume identifies the various country specific factors that warrant changes in the design and implementation of competition laws.

The book covers case studies of nine countries of differing sizes and at varying stages of economic development, that have at one stage or another repealed extant competition laws for new ones, and seeks to examine the motivations and contexts under which this was done. The countries examined include the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Ireland, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania and the UK. Tracing the evolution of competition regimes in the countries covered, the book provides lessons for countries still in the process of forming their competition regimes. The contributions show that the road to strong competition regimes is seldom smooth, and that social, economic and political factors in the country hugely impact on the pace and effectiveness of competition reforms. The volume also addresses the issue of when the development of competition policies and laws can be seen to be in conflict with national development strategies.

Cartel activity is prohibited under EU law by virtue of Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Firms that violate this provision face severe punishment from those entities responsible for enforcing EU competition law: the European Commission, the national competition authorities, and the national courts. Stiff fines are regularly imposed on firms by these entities; such firm-focused punishment is an established feature of the antitrust enforcement landscape within the EU. In recent years, however, focus has also been placed on the individuals within the firms responsible for the cartel activity. It is increasingly recognized that punishment for cartel activity should be individual-focused as well as firm-focused. Accordingly, a growing tendency to criminalize cartel activity can be observed in the EU Member States. The existence of such criminal sanctions within the EU presents a number of crucial challenges that need to be met if the underlying enforcement objectives are to be achieved in practice without violating prevailing legal norms. For a start, given the severe consequences of a custodial sentence, the employment of criminal antitrust punishment must be justifiable in principle: one must have a robust normative framework rationalizing the existence of criminal cartel sanctions. Second, for it to be legitimate, antitrust criminalization should only occur in a manner that respects the mandatory legalities applicable to the European jurisdiction in question. These include the due process rights of the accused and the principle of legal certainty. Finally, the correct practical measures (such as a criminal leniency policy and a correctly defined criminal cartel offence) need to be in place in order to ensure that the employment of criminal antitrust punishment actually achieves its aims while maintaining its legitimacy. These three particular challenges can be conceptualized respectively as the theoretical, legal, and practical challenges of European antitrust criminalization. This book analyses these three crucial challenges so that the complexity of the process of European antitrust criminalization can be understood more accurately. In doing so, this book acknowledges that the three challenges should not be considered in isolation. In fact there is a dynamic relationship between the theoretical, legal, and practical challenges of European antitrust criminalization and an effective antitrust criminalization policy is one which recognizes and respects this complex interaction.

This work is the only bilingual (Chinese/English) compilation of all legal texts applicable to the area of competition law in China. It includes the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China (AML) as well as all other laws that have relevant provisions. It also incorporates the regulations issued by the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC); judicial interpretations of the Supreme People's Court; as well as the 15 decisions MOFCOM has published so far.

"Competition and the State" analyzes the role of the state across a number of dimensions as it relates to competition law and policy across a number of dimensions. This book re-conceptualizes the interaction between competition law and government activities in light of the profound transformation of the conception of state action in recent years by looking to the challenges of privatization, new public management, and public-private partnerships. It then asks whether there is a substantive legal framework that might be put in place to address competition issues as they relate to the role of the state. Various chapters also provide case studies of national experiences. The volume also examines one of the most highly controversial policy issues within the competition and regulatory sphere--the role of competition law and policy in the financial sector.
This book, the third in the "Global Competition Law and Economics" series, provides a number of viewpoints of what competition law and policy mean both in theory and practice in a development context.

In the debate on the enforcement of competition law, many take the view that Europe should avoid the traps US law has fallen into by admitting excessive litigation. European law should not pave the way for judicial proceedings which ultimately serve the interests of lawyers or other agents rather than injured parties. This inquiry describes the state of remedies in competition law in fifteen European countries, analyses the underlying determinants, and proposes ways of improving the enforcement of competition law. The International and European legal frameworks are presented, as is the approach of US-American law. It is argued that efforts to strengthen private enforcement of antitrust law should benefit from the rich European experience in unfair competition law. The divergence between the two fields of law is not so huge that a completely different treatment is justified. Thus, a specifically European way of competition law enforcement could be developed.

Modern competition law was first employed by countries over one hundred years ago in order to address issues relating to restrictions of trade at the national level. Recent international economic integration has weakened the distinction between the domestic and the international in several fields of economic activity, and consequently the laws which regulate such activity, competition law included. Several attempts to address the paradox of adopting national competition rules to address international issues have been made at the international, regional and (lately) bilateral levels. This book discusses the international dimension of EU competition law, and examines the position taken by the EU in four distinct categories of international agreements which are devoted to competition or include competition provisions. In particular, it analyses the EU's position with regard to bilateral enforcement cooperation agreements, bilateral free trade agreements, plurilateral-regional agreements and the long negotiations for the adoption of a multilateral competition regime.

Most readers are familiar with the concept of a monopoly. A monopolist is the only seller of a good or service for which there are not good substitutes. Economists and policy makers are concerned about monopolies because they lead to higher prices and lower output. The topic of this book is monopsony, the economic condition in which there is one buyer of a good or service. It is a common misunderstanding that if monopolists raise prices, then monopsonists must lower them. It is true that a monopsonist may force sellers to sell to them at lower prices, but this does not mean consumers are better off as a result. This book explains why monopsonists can be harmful and the way law has developed to respond to these harms.

European Commission Decisions on Competition provides a comprehensive economic classification and analysis of all European Commission decisions adopted pursuant to Articles 101, 102 and 106 of the FEU Treaty from 1962 to 2009. It also includes a sample of landmark European merger cases. The decisions are organised according to the principal economic theory applied in the case. For each economic category, the seminal Commission decision that became a reference point for that type of anticompetitive behaviour is described. For this, a fixed template format is used throughout the book. All subsequent decisions in which the same economic principle was applied are listed chronologically. It complements the most widely used textbooks in industrial organisation, competition economics and competition law, to which detailed references are offered. The book contains source material for teachers and students, scholars of competition law and economics, as well as practising competition lawyers and officials.

This is a philosophical study of concepts that lie at the foundation of antitrust - a body of law and policy designed to promote or protect economic competition. Topics covered are: the nature of competition; the relation between competition and welfare; the distinction between per se rules and rules of reason; agreements; concerted practices; and the spectrum from independent action to collusion. Although there are many legal and economic books on antitrust, this is the first book devoted to the philosophical scrutiny of the concepts that underpin it. No prior knowledge of philosophy is presupposed. The book is primarily directed at students, theorists and practitioners of antitrust, but will also be useful to lawyers, economists, philosophers, political scientists and others who have an interest in the discipline.

Three questions surround the interpretation and application of Article 82 of the EC Treaty. What is its underlying purpose? Is it necessary to demonstrate actual or likely anticompetitive effects on the market place when applying Article 82? And how can dominant undertakings defend themselves against a finding of abuse? Instead of the usual discussion of objectives, Liza Lovdahl Gormsen questions whether the Commission's chosen objective of consumer welfare is legitimate. While many Community lawyers would readily accept and indeed welcome the objective of consumer welfare, this is not supported by case law. The Community Courts do not always favour consumer welfare at the expense of economic freedom. This is important for dominant undertakings' ability to advance efficiencies and for understanding why the Chicago and post-Chicago School arguments cannot be injected into Article 82.

For some, a protectionist policy underlies most environmental measures. Lawyers working in the area of fundamental freedoms are very accustomed to discussing all issues within a free market framework and therefore often come to market-friendly decisions. Similarly, while environmental law has taken on a renewed intensity at European level, the tendency has been to analyse the subject rather narrowly, and studies fail to address the impact of environmental law on market integration. Written by one of the foremost experts in the area, the book challenges current thought and re-assesses the rules of economic integration within an environmental framework. In so doing, it bridges the gap between environmental and trade law and provides a systematic, robust, and practically workable analytical framework of the conflicts opposing rapidly evolving environmental and climate change measures and internal market as well as competition rules. The book is divided into three parts, beginning with a systematic and in-depth analysis of the key Treaty provisions regarding environmental protection, as well as an overview of secondary environmental law. Part two addresses the compatibility of EU and national environmental protection measures with the provisions of the TFEU on the free movement of goods and services, and the freedom of establishment. Part three examines the compatibility of environmental protection measures with treaty provisions on the freedom of competition and State aids. The book also includes discussion of all major cases handed down by the Court of Justice, highlighting the real impact of the conflicts.

The purpose of this book is to examine the experience of a number of countries in grappling with the problems of reconciling the two fields of competition policy and intellectual property rights. The first part of the book indicates the variation in legislative models as well as the wide variety of judicial and administrative doctrines that have been used. The jurisdictions selected for study are the three major trading blocks with the longest experience of case law (the EU, the USA and Japan) and three less populous countries with open economies (Australia, Ireland and Singapore). In the second part of the book we look at a number of issues closely related to the interface between competition law and intellectual property rights. Separate chapters analyse the issue of parallel trading and exhaustion of IPRs, the issue of technology transfer, and the economics of the interface between intellectual property and competition law.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the competition regimes of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Chinese developments are placed in the context of the adoption of competition regimes by developing and transitional states worldwide and also in relation to the influence of trans-national organisations on transitional states to adopt market-based economic strategies. The book adopts an inter-disciplinary approach considering the political, economic and legal issues relevant to competition policy adoption. The paradoxical phenomenon of Communist mainland China seeking to adopt a pro-competition law, whilst capitalist Hong Kong refuses to do so, is explained and contrasted with the successful Taiwanese adoption of a competition regime over a decade ago. The underlying economic and political forces that have shaped this unusual matrix are discussed and analysed with a theoretical explanation offered for its consequences.

An examination of the legal framework of the EU internal market as established in the case law of the European Court of Justice, discussing in particular EC competition law, the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital and the evolution of the interpretation of the provisions. The 'State' has been retreating from direct intervention in economic life as more goods and services, the provision of which was once thought to be a 'public' responsibility, are delivered through market mechanisms. Given the need for consistent application of EC law in the internal market, a common core conception of public authority, shielded from the discipline of EC competition law, is needed. The resulting realignment of public and private functions and responsibilities is not a linear and coherent process, especially in light of the changing nature of the European legal integration project and the progressive incorporation of non-economic values in the Treaties.

An examination of the legal framework of the EU internal market as established in the case law of the European Court of Justice, discussing in particular EC competition law, the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital and the evolution of the interpretation of the provisions. The 'State' has been retreating from direct intervention in economic life as more goods and services, the provision of which was once thought to be a 'public' responsibility, are delivered through market mechanisms. Given the need for consistent application of EC law in the internal market, a common core conception of public authority, shielded from the discipline of EC competition law, is needed. The resulting realignment of public and private functions and responsibilities is not a linear and coherent process, especially in light of the changing nature of the European legal integration project and the progressive incorporation of non-economic values in the Treaties.

The international spread of antitrust suggested the historical process shaping global capitalism. By the 1930s, Americans feared that big business exceeded the government's capacity to impose accountability, engendering the most aggressive antitrust campaign in history. Meanwhile, big business had emerged to varying degrees in liberal Britain, Australia and France, Nazi Germany, and militarist Japan. These same nations nonetheless expressly rejected American-style antitrust as unsuited to their cultures and institutions. After World War II, however, governments in these nations - as well as the European Community - adopted workable antitrust regimes. By the millennium antitrust was instrumental to the clash between state sovereignty and globalization. What ideological and institutional factors explain the global change from opposing to supporting antitrust? Addressing this question, this book throws new light on the struggle over liberal capitalism during the Great Depression and World War II, the postwar Allied occupations of Japan and Germany, the reaction against American big-business hegemony during the Cold War, and the clash over globalization and the WTO.

Should an international competition agreement be incorporated into the World Trade Organization? Taylor examines this question, arguing that such an agreement would be beneficial. Existing initiatives towards the regulation of cross-border, anti-competitive conduct have clear limitations that could be overcome by an agreement, and the WTO would provide the optimal institutional vehicle for it. At a practical level, Taylor points out, an international competition agreement could address under-regulation and over-regulation in the trade-competition regulatory matrix, realizing substantive benefits to international trade and competition. This book identifies the appropriate content and structure for a plurilateral competition agreement and proposes a draft negotiating text with accompanying commentary, and as such will be an invaluable tool for policy-makers, WTO negotiators, competition and trade lawyers, and international jurists.

Over the last three decades, the field of antitrust law has grown increasingly prominent, and more than one hundred countries have enacted competition law statutes. As competition law expands to jurisdictions with very different economic, social, cultural, and institutional backgrounds, the debates over its usefulness have similarly evolved.
This book, the first in a new series on global competition law, critically assesses the importance of competition law, its development and modern practice, and the global limits that have emerged. This volume will be a key resource to both scholars and practitioners interested in antitrust, competition law, economics, business strategy, and administrative sciences.

Written by a leading authority on the topic, Competition Law and Policy in the Middle East examines and critically analyses the development and role of competition law and policy in one of the most interesting regions of the world. This is the first book of its kind - to date this topic has not received sufficient attention, nor has it been adequately explored. The importance of the Middle East within the global political and economic arenas gives this book huge international significance and interest. The book will prove useful to a variety of audiences around the world: to the competition law specialists, to the students of the subject, to policy-makers and politicians in the Middle East and to those whose work deals with law and economics and who wish to know more about competition law and policy in this special part of the world.

The international spread of antitrust suggested the historical process shaping global capitalism. By the 1930s, Americans feared that big business exceeded the government's capacity to impose accountability, engendering the most aggressive antitrust campaign in history. Meanwhile, big business had emerged to varying degrees in liberal Britain, Australia and France, Nazi Germany, and militarist Japan. These same nations nonetheless expressly rejected American-style antitrust as unsuited to their cultures and institutions. After World War II, however, governments in these nations - as well as the European Community - adopted workable antitrust regimes. By the millennium antitrust was instrumental to the clash between state sovereignty and globalization. What ideological and institutional factors explain the global change from opposing to supporting antitrust? Addressing this question, this book throws new light on the struggle over liberal capitalism during the Great Depression and World War II, the postwar Allied occupations of Japan and Germany, the reaction against American big-business hegemony during the Cold War, and the clash over globalization and the WTO.

Should an international competition agreement be incorporated into the World Trade Organization? Taylor examines this question, arguing that such an agreement would be beneficial. Existing initiatives towards the regulation of cross-border, anti-competitive conduct have clear limitations that could be overcome by an agreement, and the WTO would provide the optimal institutional vehicle for it. At a practical level, Taylor points out, an international competition agreement could address under-regulation and over-regulation in the trade-competition regulatory matrix, realizing substantive benefits to international trade and competition. This book identifies the appropriate content and structure for a plurilateral competition agreement and proposes a draft negotiating text with accompanying commentary, and as such will be an invaluable tool for policy-makers, WTO negotiators, competition and trade lawyers, and international jurists.

This edited volume identifies the various country specific factors that warrant changes in the design and implementation of competition laws.

The book covers case studies of nine countries of differing sizes and at varying stages of economic development, that have at one stage or another repealed extant competition laws for new ones, and seeks to examine the motivations and contexts under which this was done. The countries examined include the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Ireland, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, Tanzania and the UK. Tracing the evolution of competition regimes in the countries covered, the book provides lessons for countries still in the process of forming their competition regimes. The contributions show that the road to strong competition regimes is seldom smooth, and that social, economic and political factors in the country hugely impact on the pace and effectiveness of competition reforms. The volume also addresses the issue of when the development of competition policies and laws can be seen to be in conflict with national development strategies.