Provides a new conceptualization of competition law as economic inequality and its interaction with efficiency become of central concern to policy and decision-makers.

Enhancing private litigation as a means of boosting the detection of anti-competitive behaviour and of remedying the harmful consequences of these practices on consumers has been at the forefront of the EU Commission agenda for a long time. Starting fr

'This comprehensive and well written volume surveys the private enforcement provisions of virtually every country in the world that has a competition law recognizing private actions. It is a first-of-its-kind, incredibly valuable undertaking. In addition to individual country surveys this book includes valuable comparative studies of private enforcement as well as theoretical and empirical analysis of its effects. Every competition lawyer with a multinational practice will benefit from owning it.' - Herbert Hovenkamp, University of Iowa, US

During the past decade, private enforcement of competition law has slowly taken off in Europe. However, major differences still exist among Member States. By harmonizing a number of procedural rules, the Damages Directive aimed to establish a level playing field among EU Member States. This timely book represents the first assessment of the implementation of the Damages Directive. Offering a comparative perspective, key chapters provide an up-to-date account of the emerging trends in private enforcement of competition law in Europe.

This text provides a comprehensive and succinct treatment of the history, structure, and behaviour of the various US institutions that enforce antitrust laws. It also draws comparisons with the structure of institutional enforcement outside the US, and it considers the possibility of creating international antitrust institutions.

This book, written by an academic-cum-practitioner with substantial experience in the field of antitrust enforcement, presents the rise of private enforcement of competition law in Europe, especially in the context of the recent modernisation and decentralisation of EC competition law enforcement. In particular, the study examines the role of courts in the application of the EC competition rules and views that role in the broader system of antitrust enforcement. The author starts from the premise of private enforcement's independence of public enforcement and after examining the new institutional position of national courts and their relationship with the Court of Justice, the Commission, and public enforcement in general, proceeds to deal with the detailed substantive and procedural law framework of private antitrust actions in Europe. The author describes the current post-decentralisation state of affairs but also refers to the latest proposals to enhance private antitrust enforcement in Europe both at the Community level, where reference is made to the December 2005 Commission Green Paper on Damages Actions and its aftermath, and at the national level, where reference is made to recent and forthcoming relevant initiatives.

"Bangkok, the City of Angels, to the uninitiated now seems more like Los Angeles than the Venice of the East by which name it was known to early visitors. Michael Smithies, who first came to work in the city in 1960, has written a sympathetic and stimulating book evoking the early days of the capital, founded in 1782, and its expansion in the nineteenth century. He describes the principal buildings which still survive, the temples and palaces, and corners and crafts which remain relatively unchanged. The second edition has been brought up to date to include such recent additions to the Bangkok scene as the so-called 'skytrain' (soon to be supplemented by an underground line). However, the old buildings, traditions, and trades of early Bangkok retain their charm and character, and in spite of its occasional brashness and impulsive modernization, the Thai capital retains a vibrancy in its anarchic orderliness which makes it one of the more endearing if sometimes confusing cities in South-East Asia."--BOOK JACKET.