As national competition laws proliferate and enforcement efforts increase, the international competition law system is increasingly beset with conflicts between States with competing interests. This book explores ways to reduce conflicts, contending that an international competition law system is evolving.

The concept of international competition law has caught on in the academic world and more in specific in the English literature on competition law. With the publication of books like International Competition Law and Emerging Principles of International Competition Law, a trend has been set in the development of a new discipline within competition law. The former work describes international competition law as an agreement that should be adopted within the WTO framework. At the end of the book, a possible model of a competition law agreement for the WTO regime is given. In doing so, the book indicates that international competition law is still de lege ferenda. By using “emerging principles” in the title, the latter work seems to partly confirm this point of view. International competition law is emerging, but it is not yet a fully grown discipline within competition law due to the absence of any action within the WTO. This paper will question whether international competition law does not yet exist in today's world or whether it is just an emerging discipline. This question will indirectly affect the presumption of whether a WTO agreement is necessary in order to speak about international competition law. Indeed, it is necessary to investigate what is exactly meant by the word international. If this word refers to a discussion of norms that are the sources of public international law, international competition law may be well in the realm of the WTO or any other treaty. If this word, on the contrary, refers to the subject dealt with, international competition law may well be that part of domestic competition law dealing with its territorial scope. The discussion on whether international competition law actually exists and what the content could be of this discipline, resembles the early discussions on the development of international criminal law as a discipline within criminal law. As the content of international criminal law has gradually developed to a reasonably defined content, the analysis of what international competition law is or could be will draw on a parallel with international criminal law. More in specific, this paper will have to investigate to what extent there have been similar developments in a competition law context as there have been in a criminal law context that have led to the discipline of international criminal law. For this purpose, the paper will introduce a categorization of Georg Schwarzenberger in relation to international criminal law. Note, however, that it is not the purpose of this paper to give a detailed list of examples of competition law for each of the developments in competition law. The paper will be structured as follows. Section 2 will introduce the categorization in international criminal law as has been conceptualized by Schwarzenberger in his article The Problem of an International Criminal Law. This categorization reveals six different meanings of the concept international criminal law. Based on these six meanings, Section 3 will describe whether there have been parallel developments within competition law. Hence, this section will investigate into the international scope of domestic competition law, the international cooperation for the enforcement of domestic competition law, the internationally prescribed or authorized competition laws or the existence of international substantive competition law. In Section 4 will then theoretically frame the concept of international competition law as it exists today. As a conclusion, this paper will state international competition law exists. However, the existing international competition law has two rather than one dimension.

This new Sixth Edition of a major work by the well-known competition law team at Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels brings the book up to date to take account of the many developments in the case law and relevant legislation that have occurred since the Fifth Edition in 2010. The authors have also taken the opportunity to write a much-extended chapter on private enforcement and a dedicated section on competition law in the pharmaceutical sector. As one would expect, the new edition continues to meet the challenge for businesses and their counsel, providing a thoroughly practical guide to the application of the EU competition rules. The critical commentary cuts through the theoretical underpinnings of EU competition law to expose its actual impact on business. In this comprehensive new edition, the authors examine such notable developments as the following: important rulings concerning the concept of a restriction by object under Article 101; the extensive case law in the field of cartels, including in relation to cartel facilitation and price signalling; important Article 102 rulings concerning pricing and exclusivity, including the Post Danmark and Intel judgments, as well as standard essential patents; the current block exemption and guidelines applicable to vertical agreements, including those applicable to the motor vehicle sector; developments concerning online distribution, including the Pierre Fabre and Coty rulings; the current guidelines and block exemptions in the field of horizontal cooperation, including the treatment of information exchange; the evolution of EU merger control, including court defeats suffered by the Commission and the case law on procedural infringements; the burgeoning case law related to pharmaceuticals, including concerning reverse payment settlements; the current technology transfer guidelines and block exemption; procedural developments, including in relation to the right to privacy, access to file, parental liability, fining methodology, inability to pay and hybrid settlements; the implementation of the Damages Directive and the first interpretative rulings. As a comprehensive, up-to-date and above all practical analysis of the EU competition rules as developed by the Commission and EU Courts, this authoritative new edition of a classic work stands alone. Like its predecessors, it will be of immeasurable value to both business persons and their legal advisers.

Should an international competition agreement be incorporated into the World Trade Organization? Taylor examines this question, arguing that such an agreement would be beneficial. Existing initiatives towards the regulation of cross-border, anti-competitive conduct have clear limitations that could be overcome by an agreement, and the WTO would provide the optimal institutional vehicle for it. At a practical level, Taylor points out, an international competition agreement could address under-regulation and over-regulation in the trade-competition regulatory matrix, realizing substantive benefits to international trade and competition. This book identifies the appropriate content and structure for a plurilateral competition agreement and proposes a draft negotiating text with accompanying commentary, and as such will be an invaluable tool for policy-makers, WTO negotiators, competition and trade lawyers, and international jurists.

'The most thoughtful collection available of insights into the challenges facing new competition jurisdictions. Whish and Townley have brought together experts on approaches global, comparative and local, combined with fresh inter-disciplinary insights. By combining law, economics and political economy, what emerges are pointed commentaries, and a rich source of principles and pragmatism. This book will guide the creators and enforcers of new competition law regimes.' – Philip Marsden, Director, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and OFT Board Member 'This is a wonderful volume filled with good ideas. It evolves from the Sixth Conference of ASCOLA, the world association of competition law professors, which asked a group of young scholars how new competition law systems can be made more effective, and challenged the conference participants to interrogate the ideas. the resulting book is an admirable collection of insightful papers and commentary. For all who are interested in advancing younger competition law systems and their supporting academic communities, this volume must be read.' – Eleanor Fox, New York University School of Law, US This book focuses on the problems faced by newly-established competition authorities, and on shaping policies and building institutions in those jurisdictions. In particular four key issues encountered by new competition jurisdictions are considered, namely: the challenges and obstacles to adopting competition laws; institutional challenges and choices, with a specific focus on deterrence; the global perspective, with a specific focus on mergers; and a discussion of how to help young academics in new jurisdictions. Theoretical analysis is informed by practice throughout, and in particular by those considered to be at the cutting edge, either working in new competition authorities or from specialists advising them on a daily basis (such as those in the OECD and UNCTAD). New Competition Jurisdictions will be of great interest to lawyers, economists, academics, judges and public officials working in the fields of competition law and policy.

Ky Ewingand’s magisterial work on international competition law is here updated to take stock of the prodigious expansion of anti-cartel enforcement throughout the world in the intervening years. Although the book has been highly regarded as a major reconsideration of the foundations of competition law and policy, it has also proven enormously valuable for its wealth of information and practical guidance. Among its most useful features (some new to the second edition) are the following: and• a vast amount of statistical and other information about public competition law enforcement agencies and their resources around the world; and• in-depth analysis of the differences in competition law regimes and the various economic and legal theories from which they derive; and• detailed attention to jurisprudence and legal commentary over many decades; and• probing of the meaning of and‘lowand’ and and‘fairand’ as applied to prices; and• suggestions for carrying out re-evaluation of policies on the basis of empirical evidence; and• formulation of a model new U.S. competition law preempting state laws; and and• guidelines on distinguishing useful collaboration from collusive activity. Nine new appendices have been added to this edition, covering such informative material as new statistical data about U.S. enforcement, details on the dramatic cooperation now taking place among nations in anti-cartel enforcement, and suggestions on how companies and practitioners should respond to multinational investigations.