Overview
One of the most contentious and high-profile aspects of European Community competition law and policy has been the regulation of what may be described as serious antitrust violations, typically involving large and powerful corporate producers and traders operating across Europe, if not also in a wider international context. Such 'hard core' cartels characteristically engage in practices such as price fixing, bid rigging, market sharing and limiting production in order to ensure 'market stability' and maintain and increase profits. There is little doubt now in terms of competition theory and policy at both international and national levels about the damaging effect of such trading practices on public and consumer interests, and such cartels have been increasingly strongly condemned in the legal process of regulating and protecting competition. Indeed, a number of legal systems are now following the American lead in criminalizing such activity. This may therefore be seen as the 'hard end' of the enforcement of competition policy, requiring more confrontational and aggressive methods of regulation, yet also presenting considerable challenges to effective enforcement on account of the economic power, sophistication and determination of the typical participants in such cartels. The focus of this study is a critical evaluation of the way in which European-level regulation has evolved to deal with the problem of anti-competitive cartels. It traces the historical development of cartel regulation in Europe, comparing the pragmatic and empirical approach traditional in Europe with the more dogmatic and uncompromising American policy on cartels and asks whether a fully-fledged criminal proceeding (with its attendant level of legal safeguards) is the most appropriate approach to legal regulation .
Full Product Details
Author: Christopher Harding ,
Julian Joshua
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.610kg
ISBN: 9780199242443
ISBN 10: 0199242445
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 01 October 2003
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Replaced By: 9780199551484
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
For any study of the regulation of cartels this work should now become necessary reading. The material is comprehensive, well researched and well written ... This study will undoubtedly shed new light on many of the areas where questions still need to be resolved. The King's College Law Journal
