Concurrent Jurisdiction in Competition Law Enforcement in Tanzania with Some Lessons from the United Kingdom and South Africa

Abstract

The enactment of concurrent jurisdiction between the Fair Competition Commission and the economic regulatory authorities in Tanzania after adoption of market economy principles in economic management was not an anomaly but a necessary undertaking. This paper attempts to show that the fact that competition authorities use different rules from those used by regulatory authorities both sets of institutions can facilitate competition. The concurrent jurisdiction guidance provided in the laws governing the existing economic regulatory institutions provide that where two legally mandated institutions coincide in dealing with an issue, no law overrides the other unless it is expressly stated in the relevant legislation. In such a situation the issue is referred to the Minister. The paper’s main suggestion is that concurrent jurisdiction in the Acts presupposed a single oversight Ministry for both FCA and regulatory authorities which is currently not the case in Tanzania today. Drawing lessons from similar authorities in the United Kingdom and South Africa, this paper has proposed that Tanzania should establish a Tanzania Competition Network (TCN) to act as forum for cooperation between FCC, economic regulatory authorities and Government officials responsible for competition and regulatory issues. Key Words: Competition, concurrent jurisdiction, competition authorities, oversight Ministry, economic regulatory authorities.