Archive for April 23rd, 2013
Commission bashing (part II)
A few days ago Nico wrote a post about “Commission bashing” in which he acknowledged that, in reality, he’s not a Commission basher but rather appreciates the good things that Comp does [the fact that one of the three examples given -next to the Guidance Paper and the effects-based approach..- was Post Danmark -a Court Judgment- reveals that Nico struggled to find good deeds on the Commission’s part :)]
Until now, the most vocal Commission basher I knew of was Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s CEO (check out his CV and the accompanying Commission disclaimer here.) We’ve previously referred to his comparison of Comp officials with Kim Il-Jung (sic) and with North Korean economists, but you may not have watched his equally… outspoken intervention at the EU Innovation Convention in 2011 (worth checking it out here)
But Mr. O’Leary now faces fierce competition. A blog called Venitism appears to overpass Ryanair’s chief’s tone; it has just published a post mildly titled: The stupid European Commission harassess the chip industry. Actually, the title is much softer than its content and than its pics. It’s so overdone that it’s worth taking a cursory look if you’ve a minute.
Aside from insulting the Commission, the post states that its authors have conducted a survey that reveals that 80% of economists would favor the abolition of antitrust rules. I’m told by my economist friends that this cannot be true, for, they say “the literature makes it clear that antitrust law promotes our welfare” 😉
Private Enforcement in Ireland
Hart has offered us a book in exchange of some advertisement on this blog.
So here we go: their latest competition law volume is a book by David McFadden entitled “The Private Enforcement of Competition Law in Ireland”.
Abstract: Competition is recognised as a key driver of growth and innovation. Competition ensures that businesses continually improve their goods and services whilst striving to reduce their costs. Anti-competitive conduct by businesses, such as price-fixing, causes harm to the economy, to other businesses and to consumers. It is small businesses and the consumer who ultimately pay the price for anti-competitive conduct. A coherent competition policy that is both effectively implemented and effectively enforced is essential in driving growth and innovation in a market economy. The importance of competition was recently emphasised when the EU/ECB/IMF ‘Troika’ included a number of competition specific conditions to the terms of Ireland’s bailout. Both Irish and Community law recognise the right for parties injured by anti-competitive conduct to sue for damages. This right to damages, in theory allows those that have suffered loss to recover that loss whilst helping to deter others from taking the illegal route to commercial success. However private actions for damages in Ireland are rare.
This book asks what the purpose of private competition litigation is and questions why there has been a dearth of this litigation in Ireland. The author makes a number of suggestions for reform of the law to enable and encourage private competition litigation. The author takes as his starting point the European Commission’s initiative on damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules and compares the position in Ireland to that currently found in the UK and US.
David McFadden is Legal Adviser and solicitor to the Irish Competition Authority and has published extensively on competition law and other regulatory issues in Ireland.
April 2013 302pp Hbk 9781849464130 RSP: £50 / €65 / US$100 / CDN $80
20% DISCOUNT PRICE: £40 / €65 / US$80 / CDN$80
Order Online in US
USA: http://www.hartpublishingusa.com/books/details.asp?ISBN=9781849464130
If you would like to place an order you can do so through the Hart Publishing website (link above). To receive the discount please type the reference ‘CCB’ in the special instructions field. Please note that the discount will not show up on your order confirmation but will be applied when your order is processed.
Order Online in the UK, EU and Rest of World
UK, EU and ROW: http://www.hartpub.co.uk/BookDetails.aspx?ISBN=9781849464130
If you would like to place an order you can do so through the Hart Publishing website (link above). To receive the discount please type the reference ‘CCB’ in the voucher code field and click ‘apply’.
Hart Publishing Ltd, 16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW
Telephone Number: 01865 517 530
Fax Number: 01865 510 710
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Chillin'Competition 