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Current Issues Of E.U. Competition Law: The New Competition Enforcement Regime, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Philip Lowe
Current Issues Of E.U. Competition Law: The New Competition Enforcement Regime, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Philip Lowe
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
On May 1, 2004, two major reforms of the EC competition enforcement regime are expected to enter into force: the modernization of antitrust enforcement, based on Regulation 1/2003,1 and the review of the European merger control system. In this contribution, I will outline the main principles underlying these reforms. In Part I, I will focus on the instruments the Commission intends to adopt early in 2004 in order to guarantee the efficient functioning of Regulation 1/2003, the so-called modernization package. Subsequently, in Part II, I will present the guiding principles of the future merger control in Europe, as they result …
Role Of Judicial Review In Merger Control, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Mark Clough
Role Of Judicial Review In Merger Control, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Mark Clough
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
This article explains the role of judicial review in European Community ("EC") Merger Control ("ECMR") by reference to the Airtours case and three other important recent judgments of the European Court of First Instance ("CFI") (Schneider, Tetra Laval and Lagardére), all decided in 2002. Article 230 of the EC Treaty, which governs actions for annulment of acts adopted by the EC Institutions "on the grounds of lack of competence, infringement of an essential procedural requirement, infringement of this [EC] Treaty or of any rule of law relating to its application, or misuse of powers," is considered only in the context …
Chronopost V. Ufex: The Paradoc Of The Competing Monopolist Symposium On European Competition Law , Alessandra Fratini, Andrea Carta
Chronopost V. Ufex: The Paradoc Of The Competing Monopolist Symposium On European Competition Law , Alessandra Fratini, Andrea Carta
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
On July 3, 2003, in the Chronopost judgment, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ" or "the Court") defined the conditions under which a public undertaking, enjoying a legal monopoly for the provision of services of general interest, can provide services to its subsidiaries without infringing Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty. The impact of this judgment on European Community ("EC") state aid policy and public services is potentially large, in both legal and practical terms. The ruling casts light on the real dilemma underlying the application of state aid rules to the circumstances of the case: how to allow public …
New E.C. Merger Control Test Under Article 2 Of The Merger Control Regulation, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Alexander Riesenkampff
New E.C. Merger Control Test Under Article 2 Of The Merger Control Regulation, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Alexander Riesenkampff
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
On November 25, 2003, the Council reached a political accord on amending the Merger Control Regulation. On January 20, 2003, the Council formally adopted the amendment as new Regulation No.139/2004. Article 2, Sec. 3 of the new regulation provides: "A concentration which would significantly impede effective competition, in the common market or in a substantial part of it, in particular as a result of the creation or strengthening of a dominant position, shall be declared incompatible with the common market." This article begins by outlining the legislative history of the new Article 2. That preface is followed by the identification …
Last Of Its Kind: The Review Of The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Fiona Carlin, Stephanie Pautke
Last Of Its Kind: The Review Of The Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Fiona Carlin, Stephanie Pautke
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
On October 1, 2003, the Commission published a formal proposal for a new technology transfer block exemption ("Draft TTBE") together with detailed draft guidelines ("Draft Guidelines")5 which explain how the new regulation will be interpreted and how Article 81 will be applied to agreements that fall outside the revised regulation's safe harbor. These proposals unleashed a barrage of criticism from industry and seem likely to result in some amendments to the proposed texts before their adoption in March or April 2004. The new package is due to enter into force on May 1, 2004. This article discusses the Commission's proposals …
European Community Compulsory Licensing Policy: Heresy Versus Commen Sense Symposium On European Competition Law , Frank Fine
European Community Compulsory Licensing Policy: Heresy Versus Commen Sense Symposium On European Competition Law , Frank Fine
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
There is a growing trend to limit the rights of intellectual property owners when the public interest warrants. Until very recently, this phenomenon has been manifested only at a transnational level.1 For example, the World Trade Organization, as recently as November 2001, in its Doha Agreement ("Doha"),2 enabled certain nations of the Asian and African subcontinents to obtain compulsory licenses to manufacture and distribute domestically certain anti-retroviral drugs by declaring a state of national health emergency. Doha raises an intriguing question: if limited intrusions into valuable intellectual property rights may be justified on public health grounds, should not such intrusions …
Combinations, Concerted Practices And Cartels: Adopting The Concept Of Conspiracy In European Community Competition Law Symposium On European Competition Law , Julian M. Joshua, Sarah Jordan
Combinations, Concerted Practices And Cartels: Adopting The Concept Of Conspiracy In European Community Competition Law Symposium On European Competition Law , Julian M. Joshua, Sarah Jordan
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
This article charts the progress of, and the vicissitudes faced by, the incorporation into the European Community legal order of the peculiarly common law concept of conspiracy as the vehicle not only for analytical purposes, by characterizing full-blown cartels as "agreements" in the sense of Article 81 of the EC Treaty, but also to resolve the multiplicity of evidential issues presented by complex, pernicious and secretive behavior. The article also shows how the uncovering of deliberate and secretive business delinquency, practiced at the highest levels in some of Europe's most respected corporations and summed up by the negative connotations of …
E.U. State Aid Developments In 2003: More Complexity, Less Certainty Symposium On European Competition Law , Dennis Oswell, Esfandiar Vahida
E.U. State Aid Developments In 2003: More Complexity, Less Certainty Symposium On European Competition Law , Dennis Oswell, Esfandiar Vahida
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
There was a time when observers had the impression that European companies could think of no better gift from the government than a subsidy of some sort. Scrutiny of such governmental largess at the E.U. level was perceived as lax and any consequences for violating the E.U. competition rules against such handouts were seen as remote and timid. Times have changed. As the European Commission (the "Commission") stiffens its resolve to police and punish unlawful State intervention in the marketplace, governmental subsidies to favored undertakings, broadly referred to in the European Union as "State aid," are fast becoming gifts that …
E.U. Competition And Private Actions For Damages, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Georg Berrisch, Eve Jordan, Rocio Salvador Roldan
E.U. Competition And Private Actions For Damages, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Georg Berrisch, Eve Jordan, Rocio Salvador Roldan
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
There are numerous reasons why private enforcement of E.U. competition law remains underdeveloped in Europe. The main reason is perhaps that it is not regulated by E.U. law but by Member State law. This in itself creates legal uncertainty. A system that creates optimal conditions for individuals to challenge infringements of competition rules before national courts ensures a high level of compliance. It is therefore no surprise that the European Commission ("Commission") is keen to see the general use of private enforcement, and in particular of actions for damages, in Europe increase. This paper focuses on one particular aspect of …
New Ec Merger Regulation: A First Assessment Of Its Practical Impact, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Werner Berg
New Ec Merger Regulation: A First Assessment Of Its Practical Impact, The Symposium On European Competition Law , Werner Berg
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
In the late evening of November 27, 2003, the Council of Ministers reached a political agreement on the amended text of the European Community Merger Regulation ("ECMR"), which is due to enter into force on May 1, 2004, the date for enlargement of the European Union. In the following article, the New ECMR will be assessed from a practitioner's perspective. Since the new substantive test is being dealt with in another contribution to this Symposium, this analysis focuses on the jurisdictional and procedural issues
Foreward: Mergers, Market Access And The Millennium, Eleanor M. Fox
Foreward: Mergers, Market Access And The Millennium, Eleanor M. Fox
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
The symposium issue is a nice microcosm of the competition law issues facing the world. It presents the tensions between national control and world integration. It presents the twin, conflicting impulses to eschew internationalization, hoping to do well enough by deepened positive comity (Waller), and to embrace internationalization at least cautiously to address concerns where unharnessed operation of national interests obstructs efficient solutions and where internationalization is most likely to sidestep the political landmines (Fiebig).
Can U.S. Antitrust Laws Open International Markets?, Spencer Weber Waller
Can U.S. Antitrust Laws Open International Markets?, Spencer Weber Waller
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
The vigorous and non-discriminatory enforcement of antitrust law can contribute to promoting an international marketplace characterized by an open competitive process. However, antitrust law is, at best, a supporting player in constructing a liberal multilateral trading order, and is incapable of promoting any single country's exports. This article suggests a small, but important, role for United States antitrust law in promoting that competitive marketplace in conjunction with a developing wave of competition law around the globe.
A Role For The Wto In International Merger Control, Andre Fiebig
A Role For The Wto In International Merger Control, Andre Fiebig
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
Although this paper follows on those new proposals, and addresses many of the same problems, the international merger control regime proposed here fundamentally differs in its approach. Although there is certainly a beneficial role for an international institution in merger control, the current proposals are too ambitious. Instead of focussing on the allocation of cross-border transactions, this paper suggests that the focus should be on the cases which present no treat to competition, and yet are scrutinized by several different national competition law regulators. An international institution, probably within the framework of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), should be created …
The Treatment Of Global Mergers: An Australian Perspective, S.G. Corones
The Treatment Of Global Mergers: An Australian Perspective, S.G. Corones
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
The purpose of this article is to examine some recent global mergers from an Australian perspective. The article begins by considering the administrative tribunal and Court structure in Australia, as well as the procedural, substantive. and remedial aspects of Australian laws regulating global mergers. It then considers the Merger Guidelines and their focus on the unilateral and co-ordinated post-merger effects that are likely to occur. The article examines a number of recent global mergers. including Coopers & Lybrand/Price Waterhouse, BAT/Rothmans, Pepsi Co/Smith's Snack Foods and Coca-Cola/Cadbury Schweppes, as well as their assessment by the ACCC. Finally, it considers some of …
Transnational Competition Law Aspects Of Mergers And Acquisitions, William M. Hannay
Transnational Competition Law Aspects Of Mergers And Acquisitions, William M. Hannay
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
As more and more U.S. companies engage in overseas operations, even the most routine merger or acquisition seems to have a transnational component which requires analysis and perhaps premerger notification under an increasing number of foreign "competition laws" (or what we call antitrust laws). An understanding of those competition rules has become an imperative for American lawyers.
Network Industries, Third Party Access And Competition Law In The European Union, Carlos Lapuerta, Boaz Moselle
Network Industries, Third Party Access And Competition Law In The European Union, Carlos Lapuerta, Boaz Moselle
Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business
This article addresses a set of issues that arise in the context of market liberalization for a special and important class of industries, the so-called "network industries," which include electricity, natural gas, rail transportation and telecommunications. Each of these industries combines activities that are potentially competitive, such as generation of electricity, with ones that are naturally monopolistic, such as transmission of electricity. This combination produces a unique set of challenges to competition law and policy in designing a market structure and regulatory framework which maximize the benefits of liberalization while effectively controlling any tendencies to monopolistic abuse. We analyze "Chicago …