Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

Consumer Harms Arising From The Competition Dynamic Of E-Commerce Platforms In Malaysia, Tze Chin Ong Dr, Mei Fei Lee Ms., Norhoneydayati Abdul Manap, Zalina Abdul Halim Dr., Sridevi Thambapillay

International Journal on Consumer Law and Practice

The structure of the digital market of e-commerce platforms is dynamic, with a combination of characteristics such as strong network effects, concentrated multi-sided platforms, extreme economies of scale and scope, low marginal costs, and high data returns. These strong network externalities within the multisided e-commerce market make the competitive environment in e-commerce significantly different from the conventional monogamous market as they create gatekeeper positions favouring a few incumbent e-commerce platforms. In these circumstances, gatekeeper incumbent e-commerce platforms often set commercial conditions that have the effect of undermining other players and potential rivals within the ecosystem. In this regard, there has …

The Chicago School’S Limited Influence On International Antitrust, Anu Bradford, Adam S. Chilton, Filippo Maria Lancieri

Faculty Scholarship

Beginning in the 1950s, a group of scholars primarily associated with the University of Chicago began to challenge many of the fundamental tenants of antitrust law. This movement, which became known as the Chicago School of Antitrust Analysis, profoundly altered the course of American antitrust scholarship, regulation, and enforcement. What is not known, however, is the degree to which Chicago School ideas influenced the antitrust regimes of other countries. By leveraging new datasets on antitrust laws and enforcement around the world, we empirically explore whether ideas embraced by the Chicago School diffused internationally. Our analysis illustrates that many ideas explicitly …

The Global Dominance Of European Competition Law Over American Antitrust Law, Anu Bradford, Adam S. Chilton, Katerina Linos, Alex Weaver

Faculty Scholarship

The world’s biggest consumer markets – the European Union and the United States – have adopted different approaches to regulating competition. This has not only put the EU and US at odds in high-profile investigations of anticompetitive conduct, but also made them race to spread their regulatory models. Using a novel dataset of competition statutes, we investigate this race to influence the world’s regulatory landscape and find that the EU’s competition laws have been more widely emulated than the US’s competition laws. We then argue that both “push” and “pull” factors explain the appeal of the EU’s competition regime: the …

Competition Law Around The World From 1889 To 2010: The Competition Law Index, Anu Bradford, Adam S. Chilton

Faculty Scholarship

Competition laws have become a mainstay of regulation in market economies today. At the same time, past efforts to study the drivers or effects of these laws have been hampered by the lack of systematic measures of these laws across a wide range of years or countries. In this paper, we draw on new data on the evolution of competition laws to create a novel Competition Law Index (the “CLI”) that measures the stringency of competition regulation from 1889 to 2010. We then employ the CLI to examine trends in the intensity of competition regulation over time and across key …

Competition Law Gone Global: Introducing The Comparative Competition Law And Enforcement Datasets, Anu Bradford, Adam S. Chilton, Chris Megaw, Nathaniel Sokol

Faculty Scholarship

Competition law has proliferated around the world. Due to data limitations, however, there is little systematic information about the substance and enforcement of these laws. In this paper, we address that problem by introducing two new datasets on competition law regimes around the world. First, we introduce the Comparative Competition Law Dataset, which codes competition laws in 130 jurisdictions between 1889 to 2010. Second, we introduce the Comparative Competition Enforcement Dataset, which provides data on competition agencies’ resources and activities in 100 jurisdictions between 1990 and 2010. These datasets offer the most comprehensive picture of competition law yet assembled and …

Introduction: Expansion And Contraction In Monopolization Law, Michael S. Gal, Spencer Weber Waller, Avishalom Tor

Avishalom Tor

This article introduces a special symposium issue of the Antitrust Law Journal based on a conference on monopolization. It argues that monopolization law has been experiencing simultaneous expansion and contraction processes that are not wholly contradictory but at least partly complementary. Specifically, the authors suggest that the contraction of monopolization law in the United States and the EU might serve to facilitate its expansion and increased importance worldwide, providing other antitrust regimes with more focused and effective tools to address the challenges involved in regulating dominant firms. Moreover, monopolization law's increased reach internationally also has made its refinement and rationalization …

Introduction: Expansion And Contraction In Monopolization Law, Michael S. Gal, Spencer Weber Waller, Avishalom Tor

Spencer Weber Waller

This article introduces a special symposium issue of the Antitrust Law Journal based on a conference on monopolization. It argues that monopolization law has been experiencing simultaneous expansion and contraction processes that are not wholly contradictory but at least partly complementary. Specifically, the authors suggest that the contraction of monopolization law in the United States and the EU might serve to facilitate its expansion and increased importance worldwide, providing other antitrust regimes with more focused and effective tools to address the challenges involved in regulating dominant firms. Moreover, monopolization law's increased reach internationally also has made its refinement and rationalization …

La Doctrina Y La Evaluación De Tendencias En La Aplicación De La Normativa "Antitrust" (Doctrine And Evaluation Of Trends In Antitrust Law Enforcement), Jesús A. Soto

Jesús Alfonso Soto Pineda

El presente texto expone de forma unificada, los argumentos recurrentes que han sido elegidos por parte de la doctrina interesada en estructurar un enforcement efectivo de las normas antitrust comunitarias, para delimitar las bondades e inconvenientes que perciben en las dos vías de aplicación de las normas de libre competencia en la Unión Europea. Delimitando igualmente la defensa de un enforcement colectivo que compenetre el nivel de disuasión de ambos prototipos, favorezca la unificación de las determinaciones que les ponen en marcha y acople correctamente las diversas vicisitudes a las que se deben hacer frente en el tránsito de cada …

Asia And Global Competition Law Convergence, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

U.S. Antitrust: From Shot In The Dark To Global Leadership, David J. Gerber

David J. Gerber

When the US Congress in 1890 enacted the first US antitrust statute in 1890, it was taking a "shot in the dark." There were no models, and there was no experience with this type of law. Today, such laws have been enacted in over 110 countries, and US antitrust law is at the center of a globe-encircling web of competition laws and institutions. In this brief article written as part of a celebration of the history of Chicago-Kent Law School, I review the evolution of US antitrust law from "shot in the dark" to global competition law leadership.

Digital Platforms In A Competition Law Context. A New Function Of Competition Law In The Digital Era, Vincenzo Franceschelli

Vincenzo Franceschelli

In a classical approach, competition law is a combination (or, if you prefer, a blend or a mixture) of law and economics. The ultimate traditional accepted goal of antitrust is to increase competition and consequently to protect the consumer.

In the digital era, competition law is going beyond its original objective of creating and preserving a competitive market.

Monopoly or dominant position in the digital world effects the communication system, and therefore citizen’s fundamental rights.

Freedom of expression, the right to be informed, privacy, access to information and to the net are preserved in a competitive and pluralistic market and …

Ownership Unbundling In European Energy Market & Legal Problems Under Eu Law, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

In this paper we will examine the issue of ownership unbundling and forced divestiture remedies imposed in a series of recent competition law cases of the energy market - examined in other papers - in relation to the possible existence of a series of legal obstacles. These energy market decisions belong to a group of antitrust cases in which a structural divestiture remedy has been imposed under the provisions of Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003. This divestiture refers to transmission networks and to generation capacity and is meant to lead to severe structural changes, which are compatible with the findings …

Competition Law And Sector Regulation In The European Energy Market After The Third Energy Package: Hierarchy And Efficiency, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

The aim of this research is to provide the basic parameters for a model for the definition of the relation between the general competition and sector specific frameworks and rules regarding the regulation of the Internal Energy Market, especially after the Third Energy Package. The research considers the recent sector specific framework in relation to a series of recent competition law cases of the Energy Market where structural remedies were applied under the commitments procedure. Essential facilities doctrine and generally competition law tools do not seem to provide a suitable framework for effectively addressing the dynamic competition concept, treating the …

Third Party Access And Refusal To Deal In European Energy Networks: How Sector Regulation And Competition Law Meet Each Other, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

In this paper, we will analyse the issue of concurrence between competition and sector rules and the relation between parallel concepts within the two different legal frameworks. We will firstly examine Third Party Access in relation to essential facilities doctrine and refusal of access and we will identify the common points and objectives of these concepts and the extent to which they provide a context to each other’s implementation. Second, we will focus on how Commission uses sector regulation and objectives as a context within the process of implementation of competition law in the energy sector and third, we will …

From Energy Sector Inquiry To Recent Antitrust Decisions In European Energy Markets: Competition Law As A Means To Implement Energy Sector Regulation In Eu, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

This paper presents the conceptual path followed by European Union, European Commission and European Competition Network, after the Energy Sector Inquiry (2007) towards the realisation of the objective of an Energy Internal Market, fully functional and open to competition. Firstly, we examine the findings of Sector Inquiry and then we describe how the Third Energy Package - that followed - tried to address the issues highlighted by the Inquiry and how Third Energy Package introduces a promising but complex system, in order to develop sector rules. Following the above, we proceed to a brief but close examination of 10 recent …

The Uneasy Case For Enforcing Competition Law Provisions Related With Excessive And Unfair Prices In Developing Countries, Andrés Palacios Lleras

Andrés Palacios Lleras

This article argues in favor of having competition law authorities of developing countries enforce provisions that, like article 102.a of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, forbid charging excessive and unfairly high prices. In order to do so, it analyzes the relevant European Union case law and the considerations it has brought forth, as well as studies regarding competition law enforcement in developing countries, in order to determine the relevant factors that may contribute to the successful enforcement in these jurisdictions. It also takes into consideration the difficulties that have resulted in the enforcement of the aforemen- …

Aproximación A La Implementación De Los Programas De Clemencia Como Instrumentos Del Derecho De La Competencia (Approach To The Implementation Of Leniency Programs As Competition Law Instruments), Jesús A. Soto

Jesús Alfonso Soto Pineda

En el presente escrito se expone como una realidad del mercado, la presencia de acuerdos restrictivos de la libre competencia. Se presentan las políticas de clemencia como instrumento efectivo del Derecho en el combate contra el Cartel y las prácticas colusorias. Se realiza un análisis comparativo de una elección de territorios que han implementado los programas de clemencia y se estructuran los inconvenientes que comúnmente afectan dicho sistema, así como los paliativos escogidos que han generado un mayor nivel de eficacia en el mismo. Los aprendizajes logrados en torno a la implementación de programas de clemencia en pasos ya recorridos …

Introduction: Expansion And Contraction In Monopolization Law, Michael S. Gal, Spencer Weber Waller, Avishalom Tor

Journal Articles

This article introduces a special symposium issue of the Antitrust Law Journal based on a conference on monopolization. It argues that monopolization law has been experiencing simultaneous expansion and contraction processes that are not wholly contradictory but at least partly complementary. Specifically, the authors suggest that the contraction of monopolization law in the United States and the EU might serve to facilitate its expansion and increased importance worldwide, providing other antitrust regimes with more focused and effective tools to address the challenges involved in regulating dominant firms. Moreover, monopolization law's increased reach internationally also has made its refinement and rationalization …

China And India Competition Laws: A Comparison, Giulia Piombi

Giulia Piombi

No abstract provided.

Two Forms Of Modernization In European Competition Law (Symposium), David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

In European competition law, the term "modernization" has been a catchword and focus of attention since the late 1990s. Usually, the reference is to "procedural" or "institutional" modernization. The European Commission used the term "modernization" in referring to the important set of changes in the institutional structure and procedures of competition law that it introduced in 2004, and it has fundamentally changed important procedures for developing and applying competition law in Europe. During the same period in which this form of modernization was proceeding, another form of "modernization" was also taking shape that represents a fundamental reorientation of much of …

The Legal Periphery Of Dominant Firm Conduct, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay explores two different but related problems and how U.S. antitrust law and EU competition law approach them. The first is the offense of attempt to monopolize, which concerns the acts that a firm that is not yet dominant might undertake in order to become dominant. The second is the offense of monopoly or dominant firm leveraging, which occurs when a firm uses its dominant position in one market to cause some kind of harm in a different market where it also does business.

The language of EU and U.S. provisions concerning dominant firms provokes one to think that …

Private Enforcement Of Competition Law: A Comparative Perspective, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

Private enforcement has long been a central part of US antitrust law experience, while it has played minor roles or none at all in European competition law systems. This contrast is fundamental to understanding differences between European and US competition law and to assessing the potential consequences of increasing the role of private enforcement of competition law in Europe. It is also central to decisions about competition law development in much of the world, because in this respect most competition law systems in the world resemble European competition laws rather than US antitrust law.

In this essay, I examine the …

The "Modernisation" Of European Community Competition Law: Achieving Consistency In Enforcement-Part Ii (With P. Cassinis), David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of A European Competition Law Network, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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 …

Constructing Competition Law In China: The Potential Value Of European And U.S. Experience, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Implementing Competition Law In Asia: Using European And U.S. Experience, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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

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

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 …