Competition (or anti-trust) law aims to ensure that markets function well for consumers by preserving or encouraging the competitive dynamic of markets. Firms that collaborate to distort competition can be severely penalised, for example when they coordinate terms rather than compete independently for customers. Where market power becomes concentrated into the hands of one or few firms, competition law can intervene to promote competitive outcomes, for example to prevent dominant firms from inducing customers not to deal with smaller rivals. Competition law has gained prominence in recent years given the significant penalties on firms and individuals breaching competition law and the rise in the number of jurisdictions that have adopted competition law regimes. As a result, competition law has crept up the compliance agenda of major corporations that wish to avoid exposure to significant penalties, including on board directors and managers. This book is a practical guide to the competition regimes in the United Kingdom and the European Union, and provides a short introduction to United States anti-trust law. It focuses on the issues that are most relevant to many of the international law firms practising in London, major commercial law firms and the in-house legal departments of large corporations. The book covers the competition law prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and the abuse of a dominant position, including enforcement action such as dawn raids and competition litigation. It also covers the rules relating to merger control in the European Union and in the United Kingdom.
