Antitrust is fast becoming a ’trending topic’, with over 120 countries having already adopted some form of competition legislation. This volume brings together carefully selected articles which reflect the evolution and progression of the regulation of joint conduct under competition law on both sides of the Atlantic, and which discuss principles of fundamental importance for antitrust law. The articles focus on various kinds of joint conduct between companies which might bear negative effects on competition, in particular on horizontal cartels and collusion between competitors. Attention is also paid to the debate surrounding the most adequate approach for vertical agreements, which take place between firms operating at different levels of production. Their effects on competition have traditionally been one of the most disputed issues in modern antitrust, and tend to divide the principal schools of thought that have influenced the evolution of competition policy around the world. The articles look primarily at two of the most established antitrust jurisdictions, namely the United States and the European Union. They discuss the general theoretical framework that has influenced the evolution of the law and policy; cover the most relevant practical developments; provide contrasting doctrinal views and pay particular attention to the main schools of thought that have influenced antitrust in the US and the EU; and are representative of the leading discussions in the course of antitrust history.

This book is intended to serve as a first acquaintance with competition law. It aims to reach a broad range of readers: students, teachers in further and higher education, officials and practising lawyers who are not usually faced with competition law issues in their working lives. This second edition has been fully updated in the light of the latest developments, and covers both EU and UK competition law along with an introduction to the EU rules on State Aid. It provides insight into the combined system of EU and UK competition law, providing a broad range of examples for the three main subjects – the prohibition of cartels, the prohibition of the abuse of a position of dominance and the supervision of concentrations (ie mergers and acquisitions). Those examples are drawn from European and UK practice. These greatly enhance the exposition of the general principles, taking into account recent legislative and judicial developments.

This book presents a comprehensive assessment of anti-cartel enforcement and investigative procedures in India. It makes a case for enhanced sanctions for cartel conduct in India. Cartels are considered the most pernicious violation of competition law, referred to as "cancer to the free market economy". While competition laws in most jurisdictions prescribe strict sanctions against cartels, Indian Competition Law provides only civil penalties, with an upper ceiling for proven cartel conduct. This volume assesses the effectiveness of anti-cartel enforcement of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). It explores investigative procedures of the CCI through multiple qualitative and quantitative indicators and the extent to which enforcement of anti-cartel laws in India has led to cartel deterrence. Further, it also examines the priorities and processes of the CCI in terms of anti-cartel enforcement, their sanctioning mechanism and their dependency of computation of penalty on varied factors. Featuring detailed case law studies and engaging data, this book will be an essential read for students and researchers of law and legal studies, competition law, corporate law, intellectual property law, and business law.

This online course will give you insights into important compliance topics.

This book deals with the cartel offence introduced into UK law by the Enterprise Act 2002. It is now, for the first time, a criminal offence to operate certain cartel arrangements in the UK, and those found guilty of the offence face the prospect of fines and/or imprisonment. This presents new challenges for competition lawyers, who may not have expertise in criminal law, and criminal lawyers who are unlikely to have expertise in the complex substantive issues raised by competition law. This book addresses these issues, providing a guide to the workings of the provisions, explanations of the definitions set out in the Act, and an analysis of the relationship of the new offence with the existing UK and EC competition law. Human rights issues and practical considerations in the application of the relevant procedural law are also dealt with. Relevant OFT guidance and statutory provisions are published in the Appendix.

One of the most contentious and high-profile aspects of European Community competition law and policy has been the regulation of what may be described as serious antitrust violations, typically involving large and powerful corporate producers and traders operating across Europe, if not also in awider international context. Such 'hard core' cartels characteristically engage in practices such as price fixing, bid rigging, market sharing and limiting production in order to ensure 'market stability' and maintain and increase profits. There is little doubt now in terms of competition theory andpolicy at both international and national levels about the damaging effect of such trading practices on public and consumer interests, and such cartels have been increasingly strongly condemned in the legal process of regulating and protecting competition. Indeed, a number of legal systems are nowfollowing the American lead in criminalizing such activity. This may therefore be seen as the 'hard end' of the enforcement of competition policy, requiring more confrontational and aggressive methods of regulation, yet also presenting considerable challenges to effective enforcement on account ofthe economic power, sophistication and determination of the typical participants in such cartels.The focus of this study is a critical evaluation of the way in which European-level regulation has evolved to deal with the problem of anti-competitive cartels. It traces the historical development of cartel regulation in Europe, comparing the pragmatic and empirical approach traditional in Europewith the more dogmatic and uncompromising American policy on cartels and asks whether a fully-fledged criminal proceeding (with its attendant level of legal safeguards) is the most appropriate approach to legal regulation .

This innovative textbook, now in its second edition, presents EU competition law in political, economic and comparative context. It brings competition law to life from an EU and global perspective, with cross currents of trade and industrial policy and attention to the intervention of the state in the market. Quintessentially readable, the book deftly and concisely excerpts the key cases and embeds them in explanatory materials, including policy statements and regulations. It is entirely up to date and integrates, for example, new issues of power in the digital economy. Notes accompanying the cases raise hard questions and explain the fascinating issues underlying contemporary competition policy in the European Union and around the world.

Drawing together a variety of perspectives, this accessible yet comprehensive Research Handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the most significant issues pertaining to the legal regulation of cartels. An interdisciplinary team of respected experts explores the theoretical, legal, economic, political, and comparative discourse surrounding cartel regulation.

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises.

The book examines the rights of defendants in infringement procedures and those of the notifying parties in merger proceedings before the European Commission and the Chinese competition authorities. The initial chapters offer a general introduction to EU and Chinese competition law respectively, paying particular attention to the substantive rules of competition law. Subsequent chapters present an overview of the procedural rights of the notifying parties in merger cases in both legal systems surveyed, address the procedural rights of defendants in infringement cases, and provide an international perspective on differences in the notification and enforcement procedures between legal systems. The final chapter draws comparative conclusions and includes a number of suggestions for improvement.​