The past year in Canada saw the Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell (the “Commissioner”), launch a concerted campaign to reform Canadian competition law and policy. The Commissioner’s view is that competition law should play a central role in facilitating the recovery of the Canadian economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, but that the current version of…
In any system, the competition regulator’s ability to investigate, sanction, and remedy competition grievances are directly dependent on the size of resources (financial, personal, and informational) that regulator has at their disposal. Competition regulators have been known to issue policies setting priority areas for competition law enforcement based on sectoral and severity criteria to overcome…
Advocate General Rantos delivered his Opinion in a request of a preliminary ruling by a Spanish court (case C-267/20), the Audiencia Provincial of León, the appellate court in a trucks’ cartel damages claim. In particular, Advocate General Rantos Opinion deals with the temporal scope of application of the Damages Directive; the “substantive” or “procedural” nature…
Europe’s leniency programs face a problem. Creating an incentive for private enforcement with the 2014 Damages Directive came at the expense of leniency applications all over the EU. A further balance of public and private enforcement will be necessary. Many approaches have been discussed. Recently, calls for exemptions or limitations of civil liability for leniency…
The market power of big tech firms like Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (the GAFAM) has long been a thorn in the eyes of the European Commission (EC).[1] Ever since the EU drafted the Digital Markets Act[2] to regulate market power in the digital markets, they faced strong protests.[3] The widely received Epic-Apple court…
As part of its review of the EU antitrust rules governing vertical agreements, the European Commission (EC) has published for consultation a draft new section of its Vertical Guidelines, which contains proposed guidance on information exchange in “dual distribution” relationships. Reacting to feedback from stakeholders, the EC has adjusted the review test it proposed in…
2021 will likely be counted as one of the most monumental years in the history of Korean competition law and policy. Above all, the amendment of Korean competition law, Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (“Korean competition law”), which significantly overhauled it, was entered into force. In addition, several bills to regulate digital platforms were…
The intensity of competition and the problematic conducts of enterprises operating in digital markets have been focal points for discussion across many prominent jurisdictions, for instance, the European Union. The Competition Commission of India has also been actively studying the emerging trends and challenges to ensure competitiveness in the digital sector. Through its market studies…
In 2021, next to the activity of the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) and of the courts, the Italian legislator looked into competition law as a tool to unleash economic growth against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. A “competitive” Recovery and Resilience Plan In the opening speech of his government, Prime Minister Mario…
The long-awaited judgement of the General Court in the price-fixing case against a world-leading provider of transport solutions, Scania, is out. On February 2, 2022, in a hybrid settlement case, the General Court dismissed the appeal filed by Scania. It upheld the decision of the Commission, which imposed a fine of € 880.5 million for…
