The internationalisation of competition law: concepts, ideas, options and players

Abstract

Attention given to the process The internationalisation of competition law is a topic that has received considerable attention particularly in recent years. Most of this attention has emerged within the academic arena; though one must not overlook the important work of certain international organisations and competition authorities which have contributed significantly towards enhancing this attention. The origins of the ‘idea’ of internationalisation date back to the 1940s and 1950s when concentrated efforts were made at that time to create an International Trade Organisation (ITO) and later build a competition agenda within the United Nations. This no doubt makes the topic an old one. Over the intervening half a century or so however it has constantly remained a feature of current debate in the field and new ideas and proposals have continuously emerged seeking to identify what the ‘next’ step(s) should be in the field for the purposes of internationalising competition law. These ideas and proposals have not been confined to a particular area of competition law and policy nor indeed to a particular body, country or forum: initiatives seeking to internationalise competition law have covered different aspects of the field and have been either launched or supported by international organisations, scholars and key competition authorities as well as by many countries around the world. The majority of these initiatives have proposed furthering the internationalisation of competition law through existing international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Competition Network (ICN) which have already developed some agenda or programmes dealing with competition law and policy.