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Books > Law > Laws of other jurisdictions & general law > Financial, taxation, commercial, industrial law > Competition law
As merger transactions become more complex, so do the remedies
involved. This book seeks to identify and examine the most
important aspects of merger remedies, which have emerged and
evolved in the European Commission's policy and practice over the
past 20 years. The in-depth analysis of applicable provisions and
guidelines is structured in accordance with a typical 'remedies
lifecycle': the negotiation, submission, assessment, adoption,
implementation and enforcement of remedies. Furthermore, numerous
conditional clearance decisions and judgments as well as studies
and legal literature on the subject are described and put into a
coherent analytical framework with the aim of providing as much
nuance as possible in the evaluation of the Commission's past and
present remedies policy and practice. While the Commission
indisputably has accomplished numerous successes in its remedies
enforcement over the years, it has also encountered some
significant obstacles and shortcomings along the way. To this
effect, the final chapter in the book critically assesses whether
the current framework, which has remained unchanged since 2008,
continues to provide an adequate regulatory response to today's
remedies issues and challenges. Where adjustments and improvements
are deemed desirable or necessary, possible measures are
considered.
This book, written within the framework of a research project
funded by the European Commission Civil Justice Programme,
identifies the ways in which cross-border EU competition law
actions can best be handled in Europe. Employing traditional
library-based legal research methods as well as qualitative
interviews with legal practitioners in Germany and England
(countries sharing different legal traditions) and policy-makers in
Brussels, the book considers how private EU competition law actions
are functioning at the moment and how they could and should be
developed. The study proposes solutions for some of the most
pressing practical problems, and includes chapters by the following
academics, legal practitioners and judges: Judge I Pelikanova
(General Court of the EU); J Lawrence and A Morfey (Freshfields); P
Lasok QC (Monckton Chambers); H Mercer QC (Essex Court Chambers); J
Webber (Shearman & Sterling); T Reher (CMS Hasche Sigle,
Germany); P Bos and J Moehlmann (BarentsKrans, the Netherlands); P
Beaumont (Aberdeen); S Bariatti (Milan); G Howells (Manchester); D
Fairgrieve (BIICL); J Fitchen (Aberdeen); A Andreangeli
(Edinburgh); D Tzakas (Athens Bar, Greece); S Dnes (Sidley Austin,
Brussels); F Becker and J Kammin (Kiel University, Germany); and M
Danov (Brunel University).
Succinct and concise, this textbook covers all the procedural and
substantive aspects of EU competition law. It explores primary and
secondary law through the prism of ECJ case law. Abuse of a
dominant position and merger control are discussed and a separate
chapter on cartels ensures the student receives the broadest
possible perspective on the subject. In addition, the book's
consistent structure aids understanding: section summaries
underline key principles, questions reinforce learning and essay
discussion topics encourage further exploration. By setting out the
economic principles which underpin the subject, the author allows
the student to engage with the complexity of competition law with
confidence. Integrated examples and an uncluttered writing style
make this required reading for all students of the subject.
Written by a worldwide team of experts, this book surveys and
comments on the unfair competition laws of the world's leading
economic powers. Following a standard pattern, each chapter
introduces the reader to the latest developments in each
jurisdiction, highlighting the ways in which the basic legislation
and case law relates to enforcement issues, and how unfair
competition laws fit with wider considerations of consumer
protection and within prevailing intellectual property and
competition law frameworks. Each of the country reports follows the
same standard structure, which includes: background and general
approach to unfair competition law * legal basis of unfair
competition law and relations to neighboring areas of law * general
considerations * general clause against unfair competition *
marketing * protection of competitors against unfair trade
practices * specific protection of consumers against unfair trade
practices * enforcement. The country reports cover the following
countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France,
Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands,
Poland, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK,
and the US.
For decades, the debate about the tension between intellectual
property (IP) and antitrust law has revolved around the question to
what extent antitrust should accept that IP laws may bar
competition in order to stimulate innovation. The rise of IP rights
in recent years has highlighted the problem that IP may also impede
innovation, if research for new technologies or the marketing of
new products requires access to protected prior innovation. How
this 'cumulative innovation' is actually accounted for under IP and
antitrust laws in the EU and the US, and how it could alternatively
be dealt with, are the central questions addressed in this unique
study. Taking an integrated view of both IP and antitrust rules -
in particular, on refusals to deal based on IP - the book assesses
policy levers under European and US patent, copyright, and trade
secrecy laws, such as the bar for and scope of protection, as well
as research exemptions, compulsory licensing regimes, and misuse
doctrines. It analyzes what the allocation of tasks is and should
be between these IP levers and antitrust rules - in particular, the
law on abuse of dominance (Article 102 TFEU) and monopolization
(Section 2, Sherman Act). Particular attention is paid to the
essential facilities doctrine, including pricing methodologies for
access to IP. Many recent decisions and judgments are put into a
coherent analytical framework, such as IMS Health, AstraZeneca,
GlaxoSmithKline (in the EU), Apple (France), Orange Book Standard
(Germany), Trinko, Rambus, NYMEX, eBay (US), Microsoft, and IBM/T3
(both EU and US). Further topics are covered, including IP
protection for software, interoperability information, and
databases; industry-specific tailoring of IP; antitrust innovation
market analysis; and the WTO law on the IP/antitrust interface.
(Series: Hart Studies in Competition Law - Vol. 1)
Merger control has emerged as a growing area of competition law
within the last decade. Merger operations can impact on a number of
jurisdictions and may require regulatory notification and approval
in more than one. Merger Control Worldwide provides practitioners
and policy-makers with a clear point of reference that will prove
invaluable when making decisions and delivering sound and accurate
advice in merger cases. The chapters set out the details of every
jurisdiction where a mechanism for merger control is in place and
make use of flowcharts and diagrams to provide a concise and
practical account of the relevant law in each jurisdiction.
This book proves that, as a result of the enhanced private
antitrust enforcement reform, private international law has a vital
role to play if EC competition rules are to be enforced effectively
in court proceedings with an international element. To this end,
the author makes a thorough analysis of how the post-2003 policy of
the European Community - favoring private law enforcement of EC
competition law - can be implemented under the existing provisions
for jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of foreign
judgments under the Brussels I regime. The work also deals with how
the jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments
issues are dealt with in England under the common law rules
applicable when Brussels I does not apply. Additionally, the
complex private international law problems - in respect to
cross-border class action and judgments in relation to antitrust
infringements that have occurred in several countries - are
discussed. The author further examines the choice of law issues
that may arise before the English courts under Rome I and Rome II.
The potential problems regarding jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals
and choice of law in arbitral proceedings - in relation to EC
competition law claims and the jurisdiction of English courts in
proceedings ancillary to arbitration claims - are dealt with
accordingly.
Discover the strengths and weaknesses in UK competition law as it
has evolved over the last 10 years and look ahead to what changes
we can expect in the next 10 years. Find out about the role of the
Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the impact
of private litigation, the Competition Act 1998, the European
Administrative Model and more in this essential analysis.
This book offers an original interpretation of the case law on
exclusionary abuses under Article 82 EC (now Article 102 TFEU,
according to the numbering introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon), and
it identifies the various factors that have shaped the application
of this provision through its history. The book provides an
in-depth analysis of the European Commission's Guidance on
enforcement priorities under Article 82 and it makes a provocative
proposal for further modernisation of the analysis of exclusionary
abuses by recasting the prohibition of abuse of dominance as a norm
which deals only with unilateral conduct. The first part of the
book reconsiders fundamental legal and economic concepts
underpinning the assessment of exclusionary abuses and identifies
the difficulties posed by the principal forms of abusive practices
(refusals to deal, predatory pricing, rebates and tying). The EU
case law is compared with the US experience under Section 2 of the
Sherman Act. The second part of the book explores solutions, based
on the premise that the reform of Article 82 (now Article 102 TFEU)
should be in line with the modernisation of Article 81 (now Article
101 TFEU) and the EU merger control rules. The last chapter
demonstrates the gradual convergence of the application of Articles
81 and 82 in the area of vertical restraints. It points towards a
redefined division of labour between these two provisions with a
view to ensuring efficient enforcement, better protection of
consumer interests, and clearer incentives for dominant firms to
invest in desirable commercial practices. The book will be of
interest to students and practitioners of EU competition law, and
to those in other jurisdictions where the application of
competition law to practices of dominant firms is controversial.
The European Competition Law Annual 2001 is the sixth in a series
of volumes following the annual workshops on EU Competition Law and
Policy held at the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University
in Florence. The volume reproduces the materials of the roundtable
debate that took place at the sixth edition of the Workshop (1-2
June 2001),which examined the conditions for an effective private
enforcement of EC antitrust rules. The application of EC antitrust
rules in the context of private litigation before national courts
and arbitration tribunals is becoming a highly topical subject
against the background of the on-going debate about the
decentralisation of EC antitrust enforcement. The participants - a
group of senior representatives of the Commission, national judges,
arbitrators, renowned academics and international legal experts in
the field of antitrust - discussed in particular the following
aspects: a) the availability and effectiveness of substantive
remedies in the enforcement of EC antitrust rules at the EU level
in general and in four major EU jurisdictions in particular
(England, France, Italy and Germany); b) the procedural issues
arising in the enforcement of EC antitrust rules by national courts
in four EU jurisdictions (England, France, Italy and Germany) and
at the EU level in general; c) the problems arising in the
application of Article 81(3) EC by arbitration tribunals. In
addition to these issues, the participants also discussed whether
the public enforcement of EC antitrust rules could be rendered more
efffective by introducing sanctions applicable to the individuals
responsible for their violation.
This book is a collection of papers from the Beesley Lecture series
on regulation held jointly by the IEA and the London Business
School in the autumn of 2000. The chapters in this volume are
revised versions of the papers given in the series and they are, as
usual, followed by comments made by the chairman; the chairman in
most cases being the regulator.
The 1998 Volume on the regulation of communications markets is the
third in a successful series of European Competition Law
Annuals,founded upon open dialogue between technical experts,
market analysts and legal practitioners. Gathering together
academic papers and edited transcripts of expert discussions, it
offers readers a lively and informed insight into the topical
debate of whether governments, or the European Union, should
intervene to prevent powerful firms from abusing their control of
critical 'gateways' between consumers and communication information
services. The Volume examines the technical and market evolutions
that have allowed the development of single communications
networks, which offer consumers a variety of telephone,
audio-visual and computer data services. In an era of market
liberalisation, the editors and contributors ask how private
ownership of such communications networks may be reconciled with
the need to ensure consumers easy access to the services that
underpin our, so-called, 'information society'. Table of Contents
Introduction - Claus D. Ehlermann Biographical Notes on the
Participants Panel One: Regulating Access to Bottlenecks 1 Panel
Discussion 2 Working Papers - Fod Barnes, Bernard Amory and
Alexandre Verheyden, Jens Arnbak, Henry Ergas, Herbert Hovenkamp,
Gunter Knieps, Daniel Rubinfield and Robert Majur, Joachim Scherer,
Herbert Hungerer, James Venit Panel Two: Agreements, Integration
and Structural Remedies 1 Panel Discussion 2 Working Papers - Mark
Armstrong, Donald Baker, Eleanor Fox, Barry Hawk, Colin Long,
Michael Reynolds, Alexander Schaub, Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, Mario
Siragusa Panel Three: Institutions and Competence 1 Panel
Discussion 2 Working Papers - Ulrich Immenga, Stuart Brotman, Ian
Forrester, Frederic Jenny, Bruno Lasserre, Santiago Martinez Lage
and Helmut Brokelmann, James Rill, Mary Jean Fell, Richard Park and
Sarah Bauers, Giuseppe Tesauro, Robert Verrue, Peter Waters, David
Stewart and Andrew Simpson, Dieter Wolf, Dimitri Ypsilanti
Afterword - Louisa Gosling
This volume of essays contains contributions by a group of
specialists in the area of competition law,including heads of the
world's major competition and antitrust enforcement authorities,
renowned scholars and private practitioners. The focus of the
volume is the objectives of competition policy of the European
Union and other major jurisdictions, the prospects of multilateral
competition code, and the relationship between objectives and
implementation issues. This is the second in a series of volumes
intended to provide an up-to-date commentary on new developments
and trends, the first of which was published in 1997.
This book explores the interface between competition law and market
integration in the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), focusing on the notion of
'market separation'-namely conduct that may hinder cross-border
trade. The discussion reviews, among other things, the treatment of
geographic price discrimination and exclusionary abuse, by which
out-of-state competitors are affected. 'Market separation' cases
are treated in the book as a case study for appraising the
interface between competition and the Internal Market. On this
basis, the book provides a comparative analysis of the Treaty
requirements under Article 102 TFEU when applied in 'market
separation' cases and the Treaty requirements under the free
movement provisions. In addition, it utilises 'market separation'
cases as a springboard for advancing an informed reformulation of
the application of Article 102 TFEU when state action comes into
play. All in all, the analysis presented in the book deconstructs
the elements for establishing 'market separation' as an abuse of
the dominant position. It shows that there is nothing that would
justify a distinctive treatment of 'market separation' under
Article 102 TFEU, other than a principled understanding of Internal
Market law as a whole: whatever understanding one reaches about the
proper shape of the Internal Market, interrogation of the proper
application of competition law comes after that and thus should be
informed by this understanding.
The horror novel has often been looked upon as the poor relation in
the literary world, and yet some of our greatest writers have
published novels under its banner. Horror writer (Whittlewood and
The Wild Horseman) and former Gothic Society member, Suzanne
Ruthven brings us a step-by-step guide to writing horror fiction.
This book provides a comprehensive practitioner guide to the new
competition law framework in the UK, following the widespread and
significant reforms introduced in April 2014 and brought about by
the Enterprise Regulatory and Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013); and
reforms brought about by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. It considers
the "new politics" of UK competition law: the increasing
re-politicisation of competition policy in the UK, and how
different elements of the regime (civil, criminal and
administrative) interact. The book summarises the existing regime,
considering how it has fared since the Competition Act came into
force in 2000. It considers the administrative enforcement regime,
including institutional reform of the functions of the CMA,
sectoral regulators, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and the
Secretary of State; and the enforcement process. It then covers the
merger control regime, including fixed time limits, merger notice
and information gathering powers, interim measures, due process,
and remedies. It examines the powers and remit of the various
sector regulators in terms of promoting competition and enforcing
competition law, as well as the UK Competition Network and the
wide-ranging remit of the FCA regarding financial services markets.
It also analyses individual criminal liability, the cartel
offence-both in its original form and as amended by the ERRA-and
procedural issues. Finally, the book examines private enforcement,
including the development of private competition litigation in the
UK, the changes introduced by the Consumer Rights Act and the EU
directive on damages actions for competition law infringements This
is an essential guide to the new competition law framework in the
UK, offering clear critical analysis as well as practical guidance
on the full implications of these wide-ranging reforms.
The role of the EU competition law rules in shaping the EU Internal
Market can hardly be overstated. The EU substantive rules dealing
with cartels, abuse of dominance and State aid have ensured, in the
past decades, a much desired unity of the law applied in the
diverse European markets. Yet, much of the success of the EU
competition law provisions depends on its practical enforcement.
The proliferation of competition law enforcement, especially since
2004, stands testimony in this respect. However, this has not come
without challenges. In this context, this book aims to critically
discuss certain key elements relating to the domestic enforcement
of the said rules, in order to place the discussion of further
boosting this enforcement exercise in the correct context. This
book aims, in this respect, to find an answer to the following
question: to what extent would boosting the domestic enforcement of
the EU competition law rules aid the ambition of more forceful,
better targeted and more resource-efficient EU competition law
enforcement in the Internal Market? Topics such as the following
are discussed in the contributions included in this book: the
sufficiency of the enforcement toolbox of national competition
authorities, the interaction between fundamental rights and
competition law, and the duties of domestic bodies in this context.
This book examines the role and utility of competition law within
the EU's legislative and regulatory dialogue, using its response to
crisis conditions as a test of its aims and abilities. As such, its
main conclusion is that competition policy acts as a forum for
debate as to the direction of the European integration project,
while competition law can serve as a tool for aiding in the
implementation of broader policy objectives. The analysis here
explores the role of the general economic context in the
application of competition law, the existence of identifiable
baselines applicable in crisis conditions, the ability and role of
national competition authorities in applying competition law, and
the ways in which the European Commission's overarching policy
goals can influence the application of competition law.The decision
to take an empirical approach to this research project stems from a
conviction that an investigation into the real world situations
faced by firms and consumers should underpin the evaluation of the
applicable legal rules. Over the past number of years, the
Commission has exerted more and more influence over the development
of the regional and global airline industry, and this book
identifies the emergence of an apparent overarching aim on the part
of the Commission to create a market with a handful of
ultra-competitive airlines with international reach serviced by an
array of smaller feeder airlines on a regional basis. The study of
Irish beef processing, on the other hand, identifies a high level
of government involvement in providing the strategic thinking
behind a crisis cartel scheme, and then demonstrates how the
economic context exerted considerably more pressure on the
government and the national court than on the competition
authorities involved.
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