Competition in Global Markets: Who Will Police the Giants?
45 Pages Posted: 29 Apr 2010
Date Written: April 27, 2007
Abstract
This article argues for the negotiation of a multilateral agreement on competition law. Globalization has made the need for a strong international competition law framework particularly compelling. The work examines the history of efforts to encourage and to support bilateral and multilateral cooperation and convergence, as well as harmonization of substantial competition law and procedures. In that context, the work considers the prospects for negotiating such an agreement under international institutions. The article contends that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) represents the most appropriate venue for the negotiation of such an agreement but only if the UNCTAD members, particularly the developing country members, can resolve their ambivalence about the importance of competition law to the successful economic development of their countries. The argument asserts that UNCTAD must clarify its thinking on the relation between competition and development, and begin by revising the United Nations Set of Principles and Rules on Competition and its Model Competition Law to reflect current best practices.
Keywords: Competition Law, International Antitrust Law, Global Trade Markets, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED), the International Competition Network (ICN), European Competition Network (ECN), United Nations Conference
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