No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / am2014 / Mercantile Law / unrestricted

In the past, an Irish barrister and arbitrator James Bridgeman remarked that the arbitration of competition law is a meeting of two black arts. This perception has not changed since and yet, the adjudication of anti-competitive agreements in arbitration is an everyday event of real life. This thesis, after a brief summary of history of arbitrability of competition law, picks specific issues closely tied to current practical problems that arbitrators must face. First, whether arbitrators should consider themselves as being under obligation to raise competition issues of their own motion (ex officio) during arbitration proceedings, secondly, whether national courts of the EU Member States must automatically set arbitral awards in breach of competition rules aside and thirdly, whether arbitrators are in a good position to address complex antitrust questions properly and whether they can receive some help from the official competition authorities entrusted with primary enforcement of antitrust law. Mainly EU law will be covered here albeit with few brief excursions into particular problems of national law of the Czech Republic, to which this thesis endorses relevant solutions.

1 ABSTRACT Cross-border Anti-competitive Agreements Functional market mechanism, as an essential element of a market economy, is a prerequisite for the economic prosperity of advanced democratic states. A completely crucial element of its functionality is free competition, the protection of which is regulated by competition law. However, competition does not apply consistently across all sectors. In this thesis I focuse on its application within the financial services area. This sector`s nature is very specific because we must always strive to maintain financial stability when implementing any measures. How should legislation respond to these aspects respond and how should the competition policy itself be shaped? Is regulation of this area necessary or does the competition intself represent a thread to the financial stability of the system? In order to fully understand the specifics of this area, it is firstly necessary to become familiar with the economic aspect of competition law and the nature of these white-collar crimes. Consequently, I will focus on the application of the competition law on financial services, taking into account new technologies and their influence on the structure of this market. The impact of competition on the banking sector is one of the core parts of this thesis. Based on an...

Il s'agira de démontrer dans quelle mesure les réformes récentes relatives à l'action en réparation du dommage résultant de pratiques anticoncurrentielles influencent la stratégie de l'entreprise. Outre les stratégies destinées à contenir ce risque nouveau, cette dernière pourrait également tirer parti du contentieux privé afin d'améliorer ses performances sur le marché. / Following the recent reforms regarding anticompetitive practices private enforcement, my research aims at studying the influence of these new rules on companies' legal strategies. If companies will have to adapt their strategy to avoid legal exposure, they can also use those very same rules as a tool to improve their performance.

The purpose of my thesis is to analyse two issues arising out of the European and Czech competition law provisions prohibiting agreements which restrict competition. First, I shall examine the issue of distinction between prohibited agreements and allowed unilateral conduct. Furthermore, I shall explore the definition of the concerted practice as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union and Czech administrative courts focusing again on the distinction between such practice and unilateral conduct. Second, I shall elaborate on the structure of Article 101 TFEU. As a consequence of the "more economic approach" taken by the Commission and the repeal of the individual exemption system under Article 101(3) TFEU, the distinction between the concept of object offences and the concept of effect offences is slowly disappearing while having detrimental implications for legal certainty. Moreover, the conceptual distinction between considerations of ancillary restraints under Article 101(1) TFEU and consideration of pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects under Article 101(3) TFEU is slowly disappearing as well. The economics take their role in the assessment, and that is also the reason why I chose this topic because I am interested in the overlap between law and economics. My thesis is...

Protection of Economic Competition - Agreements Violating Competition The aim of this thesis is to investigate and analyze legal relations arising from the anti-competitive agreements according to Czech law on the one hand and according to European law on the other hand. The thesis emphasizes analysis of the relevant judicature of respective courts and public authorities because this area of law is significantly amended by the case law. The first chapter defines and specifies general terminology regarding protection of economic competition. This part provides comprehensive interpretation of the relevant legal regulations regarding anti-competitive agreements, describes the mutual relation between the terms, and points out some issues of the current legislation. In the second chapter author focuses on the issues of anti-competitive agreements and gives their analysis in terms of form, participants and their distinction. Further, this chapter includes demonstrative specification of the particular state of facts of anti-competitive agreements. The last chapter provides a detailed analysis of selected questions from the perspective of the relevant judicature of respective courts and public authorities. Author chose two cases decided by Czech courts and two European cases. The cases have been chosen...

Att upprätthålla en god affärsetik är viktigt för många företag, eftersom det skapar ett för- troende hos intressenter i olika led. För att inta en stark ställning på marknaden krävs även att företagen är konkurrenskraftiga. Ökad konkurrenskraft kan fås genom konkurrentbe- vakning, då information inhämtas från konkurrenter. Dock saknas det tydliga regler huruvida informationsutbyte omfattas av artikel 101.1 FEUF, som reglerar konkurrensbe- gränsande företeelser på marknaden. Kommissionen har meddelat att artikel 101.1 FEUF bör omfatta informationsutbyte, ef- tersom det kan påverka ett företags självständighet att ta beslut. Detta har även fastslagits av domstolen och artikeln måste därför anses omfatta informationsutbyte. För att artikeln ska bli tillämplig måste ett avtal, beslut av företagssammanslutningar eller samordnat förfa- rande föreligga, en situation mellan konkurrenter, påverka handeln mellan medlemsstater och avtalet ska ha ett konkurrensbegränsande syfte eller faktiska eller potentiella konkur- rensbegränsande effekter. I kommissionens riktlinjer ges en viss vägledning om hur en be- dömning ska göras huruvida uppgifterna får utbytas enligt artikeln. Hänsyn ska bland annat tas till hur aggregerad och gammal den är, marknaden och hur ofta informationen utbyts. I enlighet med gällande rätt får information inhämtas från konkurrenter på ett sådant sätt att det inte begränsar konkurrensen vilket innebär att företag bör undvika att ingå alla for- mer av avtal om informationsutbyte. Det är förenligt med artikeln att inhämta offentlig in- formation och delta vid mässor och branschorganisationer. Uppgifter som får inhämtas är offentliga, gamla och aggregerade uppgifter som inte går att härleda till en specifik aktör och som inte påverkar företagens självständighet att ta strategiska beslut. Dock råder en del osäkerheter vad det gäller bedömningen av de olika faktorerna och för att minska osäker- heten på området krävs tydligare regler och riktlinjer. / To maintain high standards of business ethics are important to many companies, because it creates trust among stakeholders at different levels. To hold a top position on the market also requires that company are competitive. Greater competitiveness can be obtained by competitor intelligence, when information is obtained about competitors. However, there are no clear rules whether article 101.1 TFEU, which regulates competitive restrictions, co- vers the exchange of information. The Commission has noted that article 101.1 TFEU should include exchange of infor- mation, because the exchange can affect a company's autonomy to make decisions. The Court has also established this and because of that is it to consider that the article includes exchange of information. If the article shall be applicable an agreement, decisions by asso- ciations of undertakings or concerted practices need to exist, between competitors, affect trade between Member States and the agreement must restrict the competition. Guidelines written by the Commission gives some guidance how the assessment whether the infor- mation can be exchange according to the article. How aggregated and old the information is, the market and the frequency of the exchange shall be take into consideration when a decision is made. In accordance with applicable law exchange of information from between competitors should be made in such way that it does not restrict competition. Companies should avoid entering into all forms agreement regarding information exchange. According to article 101.1 FEUF it is consistent to gather public information and participate in trade exhibi- tions and trade associations. Data that may be collected are public, old and aggregated data that can not be traced to a specific operator. However, there are some uncertainty regard- ing the assessment of the various factors and to reduce the uncertainty in this field clearer rules and guidelines are necessary.

The present interview seeks to give some points of view about the reform of Competency regulation. In that line, the interviewee give us his general opinion about the reform, the main contribution to the matter and those aspects that were missed, focusing his opinion on anti-competitive practice and negative regulation of anticompetitive practices. / La presente entrevista busca dar algunos puntos de vista respecto a la reforma a la Ley de Competencia. En esa línea, el entrevistado nos da su opinión general sobre la reforma, los aportes que brinda y aquellos aspectos que considera faltaron regularse, centrando su opinión en aquellos temas de combate de prácticas anticompetitivas y control de regulaciones anticompetitivas.

Small islands developing states (SIDS) sustainability is a United Nations’ aim. Their markets are often influenced by external policies imposed by larger economies. Could an anti-competitive measure affect the food vulnerability of a SIDS? This research examines the effects of an external non-tariff measure (NTM) on Puerto Rico’s (PR) agribusinesses. It explores the effects of a maritime cabotage regulation (US Jones Act) on the affordability and accessibility of produce and grains. PR imports 100% of their needs of grain and over 85% of fresh produce. PR’s food imports are generally from the US and the trade service is restricted to the use of the US maritime transportation. As a result, the supply chain of these two sectors although different, are limited by the US Act that may impact the cost of food, its availability, firms’ efficiency and other structures of production. Using a mixed convergent design, PR’s agrifood supply chains were explored and analysed in relation to the maritime cabotage regulation. Oligopolistic structures and collusion between maritime transporters and local agribusinesses importers limit the access to data, but other internal factors also have a role. Fieldwork shows that while the cabotage regulation itself is a constraint, interaction with others NTM and the current political framework between US and PR are relevant. Factors such as lack of efficiency, poor innovation and a self-limitation of the agribusinesses firms were found. The novelty of this research is the use of mixed methods to evaluate the effects of cabotage on the agrifood supply chain.

No description available.