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Publication date: 29.05.2024
Antitrust law and market competition control
Introduction
Antitrust law is an important branch of the legal system that aims to promote and protect competition in the market. It regulates the behavior of companies, prevents abuse of market power and ensures fair conditions for all market participants.
Basic principles of antitrust law
Antitrust law is based on the following basic principles:
- Prohibition of anti-competitive agreements: agreements between companies that restrict competition are generally illegal. This includes cartels and other forms of horizontal agreements.
- Control over abuse of dominance: companies with a dominant market position should not abuse their market power.
- Merger control: Major mergers and acquisitions are subject to review by the antitrust authorities to prevent the creation of monopolies or significant restrictions on competition.
Prohibition of anticompetitive agreements
Cartel agreements
Cartel agreements are the most serious violation of antitrust law. They include:
- Price fixing: agreements between competitors to set the same prices for goods or services.
- Market sharing: agreements to divide the market by geography or consumer groups.
- Production restrictions: agreements to limit production in order to raise prices.
Vertical restrictions
Vertical restraints refer to agreements between companies at different levels of supply, such as between a manufacturer and a distributor. Some of them may be harmful to competition, for example:
- Exclusive agreements: agreements that limit the distributor's ability to sell competitors' products.
- Compulsion to minimum retail prices: the manufacturer forces the distributor to adhere to certain minimum prices.
Control over abuse of dominance
Determining a dominant position
A dominant position means that a company has the ability to act independently of its competitors, customers and suppliers. This is usually determined on the basis of:
- Market shares: A high market share may indicate a dominant position.
- Barriers to entry: high barriers can strengthen a company's dominant position.
Forms of abuse
Abuse of a dominant position can take many forms, including:
- Discriminatory conditions: setting different conditions for different partners without objective grounds.
- Forced imposition of conditions: forcing consumers or suppliers to comply with unfavorable conditions.
- Exclusion of competitors from the market: actions aimed at eliminating competitors from the market, for example, by dumping prices.
Conditions and obligations
Antitrust authorities may authorize mergers and acquisitions subject to certain obligations aimed at reducing the negative impact on competition. This may include:
- Sale of a part of the business: a requirement for a company to sell part of its assets or business to maintain competition.
- Technology licensing: an obligation to license certain technologies or patents to competitors.
- Changes in management: a requirement to make changes to the company's management structure or corporate strategy. You may be interested in the following articles: legal advice, legal advice, analysis of documents, legal analysis of the situation, written advice, verification of documents by a lawyer, lawyers documents, online legal advice, online lawyer, legal opinion, legal opinion of a lawyer, lawyer online.
International aspect of antitrust law
Antitrust regulation can have an international dimension, as the activities of large multinationals often extend beyond the borders of a single country. In this regard, international cooperation in the field of antitrust law is extremely important.
Cooperation between antitrust authorities
Competition authorities in different countries often cooperate to investigate anticompetitive practices that have an international dimension. This includes:
- Information exchange: providing information on investigations and supervision of compliance with antitrust laws.
- Joint investigations: working together on investigations involving companies operating in several countries.
- Harmonization of regulatory standards: development of common approaches and standards to ensure consistency of antitrust regulation.
The role of international organizations
International organizations, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), play an important role in promoting international cooperation and exchange of experience in the field of competition law.
