This book examines the implications for public law of the regulation of privatized utilities, asking how these institutions fit into our constitutional understanding regarding accountability, individual rights and territorial government. It argues that new approaches are needed if constitutional and regulatory principles are to accommodate one another. This is of particular interest in the context of recent constitutional reforms and the growing influence of European integration. After describing the institutions, their powers and duties, particular attention is paid to the position of consumers, the role of the European Community, territorial government and the place of individual rights. The book concludes by looking at price control, the coming of competitive markets for utility services and the future of the regulatory system in the light of convergence, multi-utilities and the government's planned reforms.

EU and UK Competition Law is the perfect companion to your study of competition law. Written by a leading expert in the field, this new edition has been fully updated with all the latest developments in this rapidly moving subject area. It also includes expanded coverage of cartels within a dedicated chapter. Full coverage of the UK cartel offence, and merger control in both the EU and UK ensures this text maps fully to the syllabus of competition law modules.

In addition to being the principal medium for communication, education and entertainment the new economy is now a leading provider of goods and services through electronic channels. The new economy rides on the crest of new technological developments in computers, telecommunications and satellites creating new interactive mediums and from the deregulation and privatization of state owned enterprises in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors. Whilst the economic viability of the dotcoms is questioned, the existence of a new economy with novel methods of production, distribution and exchange is here to stay. Evidence of this is the fact that there are 300 million active computers in the world, with 350 million people who use the world wide web (expected to grow to one billion in four years), and the speed of microprocessors continuously increases, facilitating the use of IT. The question which is pursued in the series of essays in this book is whether the conceptual underpinnings of competition law and international regulatory mechanisms are adequate or appropriate to deal with the developments raised by the new economy.

This is the first book to use a comparative approach to examine the effects of different constitutional and legal traditions on privatization. Cosmo Graham and Tony Prosser focus on privatization in the UK and France. They suggest that the British Government was remarkably free from constitutional limitation, whereas in France the written constitution imposed important restrictions on the scope of privatization and on the arrangements of the pricing of shares. They go on to describe the links created between privatized enterprises and government by devices such a golden shares and analyse the constraints of competition law and the regulatory arrangements in Britain. They also compare the British regulatory agencies with those in the US, looking in particular at the way in which the influence of Federal and State constitutions has led to the incorporation of significant elements of openness in decision-making procedures. This detailed analysis of the effect of legal constraints on economic policy adds a constitutional dimension to what has primarily been seen as an economic issue, and will make a unique and valuable contribution to current debates in political studies.