This new study takes a keen look at the problems facing the international community due to conflicts arising from applications of varying competition laws by different competition authorities to international airline alliances. As a result of privatisation, deregulation, liberalisation and globalisation, international air carriers form alliances with one another in order to cope with growing competition in the international air transport market. This book clearly provides an introduction to the background to and origin of airline alliances, different models of alliances and the related anti-competitive practices resulting from existing international airline alliances. The potential anti-competitive practices resulting from these cross-border alliances trigger a great deal of concern from various competition authorities. Thus, this study goes on to provide a detailed analysis regarding the relevant EC competition law and US antitrust law and their applications to alliance activities. The comparison of different applications of EC competition law and US antitrust law to international airline alliances provides leading research results first-hand. In the conclusion, the essential elements regarding establishing a level playing field in the international air transport market are identified and the author provides possible solutions for the harmonisation of different applications of competition law to international airline alliances.

Professor Ullrich is thoughtful and attracted star scholars from many countries, so the papers and discussion are provocative and introduce recent economic thinking, although many are written by lawyers. . . The text is lucid and interesting, the thought innovative and anyone seriously interested in competition policy should read these papers and the comments with pleasure. Valentine Korah, World Competition This collection of papers and comments deserves to be widely read, and it should appeal to academics and practitioners alike. The great mix of topics and the variety of views offered make this a very stimulating contribution to the discussion of the new paradigm of EC competition law, the more economic approach, and its implications for the application and interpretation of the various EU antitrust rules. Thomas Eilmansberger, European Law Journal The editor should be congratulated for bringing together this diverse group of scholars whose spirited disagreements remind one of the many challenges faced in exploring the role and function of competition law. Giorgio Monti, European Review of Contract Law With contributions from leading scholars from all over Europe and the US, this book covers the major areas of substantive competition law from an evolutionary perspective. The leitmotiv of the book has been to assess the dividing line between safeguarding and regulating competition, which it does by reviewing the following subjects: foundations of competition policy in the EU and the US strategic competition policy the evolution of European competition law from a national (Italian) perspective the block exemption of vertical agreements after four years the new Technology Transfer Block Exemption cooperative networking mergers in the media sector abuse of market power concepts of competition in sector specific regulation competition, regulation and systems coherence efficiency claims in EU competition law and sector specific regulation. The Evolution of European Competition Law will be of great interest to lawyers, economists, academics, judges and public officials working in the fields of competition law and policy.

The principle of airline substantial ownership and effective control is one of the biggest impediments to the air transport industry growth. Legitimately included in the bilateral agreements since 1946 for national security reasons, States have maintained the principle over the years and used it as a protectionist tool, as well as a bargaining chip. Today, considering that liberalization and globalization concepts are already well-established in the biggest industrial sectors, and a large number of cross-border investments occurs in most of the service sectors through mergers and acquisitions, the time is ripe to remove national restrictions on foreign investments from the airline industry. This comprehensive book identifies those factors that still justify the imposition of national ownership restrictions on airlines and examines the prospects for change in the current policies and regulatory regimes that support them. The readership includes specialists in government departments of transportation, civil aviation authorities and agencies, international organizations, airline executives concerned with general management, economic, legal and public affairs, aviation lawyers, airline pilot associations, law schools concerned with international aviation law.

Indian Review of Air and Space Law published by the Centre for Research in Air and Space Law at Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai aims to provide a unique forum for practitioners, regulators, policymakers and academics who deal with international, regional and national aviation and space law and policy. It is an academically led peer-reviewed academic review that aims to publish high-quality scholarship on air and space law spanning all areas including comparative, international and multidisciplinary perspectives.

This book examines the role and utility of competition law within the EU’s legislative and regulatory dialogue, using its response to crisis conditions as a test of its aims and abilities. As such, its main conclusion is that competition policy acts as a forum for debate as to the direction of the European integration project, while competition law can serve as a tool for aiding in the implementation of broader policy objectives. The analysis here explores the role of the general economic context in the application of competition law, the existence of identifiable baselines applicable in crisis conditions, the ability and role of national competition authorities in applying competition law, and the ways in which the European Commission’s overarching policy goals can influence the application of competition law. The decision to take an empirical approach to this research project stems from a conviction that an investigation into the real world situations faced by firms and consumers should underpin the evaluation of the applicable legal rules. Over the past number of years, the Commission has exerted more and more influence over the development of the regional and global airline industry, and this book identifies the emergence of an apparent overarching aim on the part of the Commission to create a market with a handful of ultra-competitive airlines with international reach serviced by an array of smaller feeder airlines on a regional basis. The study of Irish beef processing, on the other hand, identifies a high level of government involvement in providing the strategic thinking behind a crisis cartel scheme, and then demonstrates how the economic context exerted considerably more pressure on the government and the national court than on the competition authorities involved.

The world of aviation has moved on rapidly since the appearance of the ninth edition of this pre-eminent resource five years ago. Those developments pertain to market access and market behaviour by air carriers, including competition, new perceptions of safety and security, among others, in relation to transparency of accident investigation and cybersecurity, case law in the area of airline liability, with new cases from the United States, product liability and insurance, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, the growing importance of environmental concerns, the rights and obligations of passengers, also in the context of ‘unruly’ passengers, and innovative methods for financing aircraft. Special attention has been paid in this edition to regional integration movements, especially in Europe, affecting the mentioned subjects. The book’s extensive references to other sources in the field have been expanded and updated by the author and experts in specialised areas. The present edition addresses the following topics: the regulatory framework governing the operation of air services, including the principle of sovereignty in national airspace; the distinction between State and civil aircraft; dispute settlement in international civil aviation; economic regulation of international air transport services, including the establishment of air services agreements; inter-airline cooperation in the context of competition law regimes; liability of the various service providers, in particular airlines, and related insurance coverage; the promotion of safety standards; criminal acts affecting the safety of aviation; the role of international and regional organisations with particular reference to that of the European Union; liability of the aircraft manufacturer for equipment; and financial and security interests in mobile equipment. The many practitioners, officials, business people, and academics with a professional interest in aviation law will appreciate this new edition as one of the fundamental works in the field, and newcomers will discover an incomparable resource. This eleventh edition is ready to be of unmatched service to any practising member of the air law community anywhere in the world.

The major problem associated with the regulation of transnational mergers, which affect several national markets, is the allocation of jurisdiction. Each country concerned may wish to exert jurisdiction and apply its national competition law to regulate the anti-competitive effects a merger may have in its territory. However, this approach may lead to risks of inconsistent decisions regarding the legality of mergers. Indeed, the national competition laws applied by the regulating authorities may diverge in several aspects, which raise the likelihood of inconsistency. Therefore it is desirable to opt for regulatory approaches which are more sensitive to the transnational nature of mergers and which allow cooperation between competition authorities. A possible solution may be bilateral cooperation agreements through which two countries coordinate the enforcement activities of their national competition authorities. However, the benefits of these agreements are enjoyed only by the signatory parties. The sole reliance upon bilateral agreements does not appear to be the optimal regulatory approach towards transnational mergers.