By reference to case-law and soft law in three jurisdictions (Canada, US and EU), this paper explores how courts and agencies carry out balancing exercises in the application of competition law. The paper identifies three approaches: utilitarian balancing, consumer welfare balancing, and...

The EU agenda for improving competitiveness is missing in action. Economic competitiveness has been a central plank in the development of the European Union - a relentless quest for policies that lead to more prosperity and that make European companies in world markets more successful. However,...

This article analyzes the meaning and role of formalism in competition law. Drawing on general legal theory and philosophy, this article conceives of formalism as decision-making constrained by rules, whereby rules exclude considerations from the decision-making process. It analyzes the degree...

Mainstream competition law has failed to protect competition in core digital platform markets. This is partially due to enforcement agency’s current commitment to proving the investigated conduct’s actual effects on competition and consumer welfare on the basis of in-depth assessments of...

Distribution cartels in the automotive sector used to be frequently dismantled and sanctioned by the European Commission and the EU Courts still some 15 years ago. In recent years, however, only a few cases have been reported at the national level of EU Member States. Is it because the...

Distribution cartels in the automotive sector used to be frequently dismantled and sanctioned by the European Commission and the EU Courts still some 15 years ago. In recent years, however, only a few cases have been reported at the national level of EU Member States. Is it because the...

Digitale Technologien und datengetriebene Geschäftsmodelle haben zur Entstehung einer neuen Generation von Weltmarktführern geführt, die ihre Marktposition durch die Orchestrierung digitaler Plattformen und Ökosysteme aufgebaut haben und weiter festigen. Neue Möglichkeiten der...

This dissertation first discusses industry standards, defined as any set of technical specifications providing for products’ interoperability. Standards are adopted by standard-setting organizations (i.e. SSOs), gathering market players, competitors included. To respect Article 101 TFEU, the...

This article examines the relationship between the environment, sustainability, and European competition law. It shows that the European Commission’s decisional practice not to exempt anticompetitive agreements under Article 101(3) TFEU is because it selectively prosecutes hardcore cartels....

The role that the state place, both formally and informally, within the jurisdiction is dictated by factors that are political, cultural, and historical, and may relate to the stage of a nation’s economic development. In a market friendly environment with a strong commitment to competition law...

This piece critically analyses extraterritorial application of competition law by the European Union. The EU is a key global player in competition law and policy. Its competition law is actively and assertively applied to foreign activities of foreign entities affecting EU market. In the recent...

Should competition law prohibit competitors from agreeing to produce more energy-efficient goods, where this means higher prices for consumers? Is a dominant undertaking that switches to using only pricier recyclable packaging abusing its dominant position? Can the fact that a merger may lead to...

Market definition is a core concept of competition law in the European Union, the United States and Brazil. The present contribution first surveys the general approach to market delineation in these three jurisdictions. Against this background, it then embarks on a discussion of market...

Over the last years, several reports highlighted the market power of very large online platforms that are gatekeeping intermediaries between businesses and consumers, and the difficulty for classic competition policy tools to deal effectively with anti-competitive practices in these platforms....

This paper explores how EU competition law enforcement might be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each section of this paper reviews how various components of EU competition law are impacted. The paper evaluates the state of play and, where relevant, it makes policy proposals for how...

Under EU competition law it is prohibited to conclude anti-competitive agreements. If found, such conduct warrants fines in the millions. How-ever, little guidance on what to consider restrictive practices are available from the relevant statute, referring the matter to case law. Here a pattern...

"Policy makers around the world are increasingly worried about developments in some digital markets and in particular digital platforms which use business practices to obtain an advantage vis-à-vis competitors in vertically related activities (e.g., self-preferencing) or which use their...

The EU competition policy dilemma -- The institutional basis of strict and non-discriminatory regulation -- Tension between stringent supranational regulations and national neo-mercantilism -- The issue of discrimination against non-EU firms -- Systemic constraints on the EU's role as a global...

In many economic sectors - the digital industries being first and foremost - the market power of dominant firms has been steadily increasing and is rarely challenged by competitors. Existing competition laws and regulations have been unable to make markets more contestable. The book argues that...

Why parent companies are held liable for the infringements committed by their subsidiaries under EU competition law? This article examines the jurisprudence of the EU Courts with a view to illuminating the rationale underpinning parental liability. Taking a closer look at the “single economic...

• Pay-for-delay cases raise fundamental points of law, including the notion of (potential) competition and restriction by object.• According to the rich case law addressing the relationship between Article 101(1) TFEU and intellectual property – including Nungesser and BAT (Toltecs-Dorcet)...

This paper makes an original contribution to the literature on the developing area of private enforcement of EU competition law. It delivers a significant, rigorous and comprehensive analysis of the transposition across a broad selection of Member States (MS) of a major EU Directive introduced...

Buyer power in input markets, and in particular labour markets, have received the attention of the press, antitrust authorities and scholars in the recent past. Anticompetitive behaviour by global technology giants is an ongoing concern. A combination of the two raises serious issues. This paper...

The present study involves an analysis of the two main normative approaches and intellectual traditions in Competition Law: the consequentialist and the deontological. The aim is to evaluate their merit or demerit in the application of positive law. Especially, it is examined whether the...

• There is not a unique legal test in EU competition law. There is conduct that is prima facie unlawful irrespective of its effects, and conduct that is lawful. In between, some practices are prohibited where actual or likely effects can be shown.• This paper seeks to map the various tests...

EU Competition Law has various evidentiary rules and presumptions relating to the existence of collusive activity. We consider the effect of these rules and presumptions on economic efficiency, and highlight two forms of inefficiency associated with existing adjectival law. Firstly, both under...

Undertakings may restrict competition by cooperating with their competitors or by interfering with their ability to compete. In both cases, their ultimate goal is to raise the price they charge for their products or services. Therefore, the main concern about both collusive and exclusionary...