Abstract
This article examines the Competition Laws of the Members States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It examines their content, puts all of them under general scrutiny from their enactment until today and compares their basic features to other (developed) competition law jurisdictions, such as EU Competition Law and US Antitrust Law. The article argues the importance of the Advocacy principle in the region and the incentives international organizations (IOs) have induced so far for the development of Competition Law in the GCC Countries, including the link between trade and Competition Law. In today’s economy where online giant companies dominate, where the restrictive conduct among separate independent commercial entities grows immensely, and where mergers do not identify formal state borders, the need for global Competition Law enforcement is indispensable. Therefore, in order to be part of the global competition world, a creation of GCC Competition Law may be considered progressive and advantageous. The article argues the purposes and motivations why such awareness is desirable and provides legislative and normative recommendations on how to accomplish this endeavor.
Highlights
The research on Competition Law,1 its adoption and enforcement in developing Countries (Waked, 2008; Waked, 2014; Molestina, 2019) such as the Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a difficult and challenging task (Palacios-Lleras, 2010)
Whereas GCC Member States experience similar linguistic, cultural and religious qualities, it is considered that drafting Competition Law at the GCC level on one hand, and the improvement of economic integration on the other hand, should be easier compared to, for example, the institutional and legislative hardship experienced at the EU level
Extensively discussed in conditions of an open market, and due to incomes originating from oil production in particular, still, the idea of creating a supranational institutional infrastructure of competition law at the GCC level looks distant (Fox, 2015)
Summary
The research on Competition Law, its adoption and enforcement in developing Countries (Waked, 2008; Waked, 2014; Molestina, 2019) such as the Member States of the Gulf Cooperation Council (hereinafter: GCC), is a difficult and challenging task (Palacios-Lleras, 2010). One of the reasons for adoption of Competition Laws in GCC countries has to do, among others, with policies of International Organizations (hereinafter: IOs) (Gerber, 2010; Evenett, Lehmann and Steil, 2000; Kennedy, 2018), including the World Trade Organization (hereinafter: WTO), and the International Competition Network (hereinafter: ICN). They have played an important role in providing awareness and assistance to developing countries, including the GCC. These organs may be endowed with supranational powers and apply basic principles of transparency and impartiality when placing GCC companies under scrutiny. This article applies the analytical, comparative and descriptive methods, including discussions of relevant case law
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