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The right to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are integral to and manifest in LGBTIQ rights including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. International law promotes these rights and prohibits discrimination on these grounds. Many western countries endorse these rights and prohibitions in parliamentary legislation or judicial fiat. In comparison with all other jurisdictions worldwide, and within the African sub-region, only South Africa specifically prohibits unfair direct or indirect discrimination based on "sexual orientation" in its national constitution. This paper explores African approach to SOGI and LGBTIQ rights including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. It argues that despite the threat of homocapitalism, prevalent Afrocentrism and religions reject these form of "new rights" for being immoral, ungodly, unnatural and un-African, thereby underlining the limits of human rights in the sub-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the use of algorithms has become increasingly prominent in the digital market, such algorithms are often opaque and prone to risks of making biased decisions. Algorithms could also be used to harm competition, such as by facilitating cartels. Such developments make it necessary to examine the readiness of existing competition law to tackle cases involving algorithms. This paper focuses on analysing Indonesian competition law to address the following issues: (1) how current Indonesian competition law deals with algorithms-related cases; (2) which indicators could detect anti-competitive algorithms; and (3) which competition policy approach could be considered in Indonesia to tackle the problem resulted from the use of algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored links between competitive authoritarianism and populism in Serbia under Vučić via mixed methods. We conducted a quantitative content analysis of 228 political cartoons (2013--2017) by Dušan Petričić, a leading cartoonist and government critic, and qualitative visual and contextual analysis of four cartoons that reflected key themes--media freedom violations, unfair political competition, and populist and abusive rule. We found that populism appeared as the 'soft' face of competitive authoritarianism, tolerable to domestic audiences and acceptable to influential international actors because of its reliance on more informal and sophisticated and less repressive forms of authoritarian manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counterfactual analysis, which compares the competitive situation prevailing with and without the allegedly abusive behaviour, is nowadays regarded the lynchpin of an effects-based approach to the analysis of dominant firm conduct under Article 102 TFEU. This article draws on the recent Qualcomm ruling by the General Court of the European Union to critically reflect on the use and requirement of counterfactual analysis in abuse of dominance cases. It argues that Qualcomm offers two lessons on the role of the counterfactual analysis in modern competition law. First, it shows that counterfactual analysis is vulnerable to under-inclusiveness and type II errors when it ignores the problem of concurrent causes of foreclosure effects, disregards standard economic analysis of exclusivity rebates, and remains oblivious to dynamic competition. Second, Qualcomm sheds light on the intricate relationship between the counterfactual analysis and the requisite standard of harm for finding anticompetitive effects under Article 102 TFEU. In limiting the relevant counterfactual scenarios to a very narrow set of actual or nearby likely worlds, Qualcomm is but the last indication of a much more profound transformation of Article 102 TFEU: the transition from a capability to a balance of probabilities or beyond reasonable doubt standard of harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antitrust cases related to privacy are on the agenda of many competition authorities, including Europe and the United States. Antitrust and privacy is thus "one of the big topics of the year", as stated by the former President of the French competition authority. While some antitrust cases concern a reduction in privacy protection, others concern an increase in privacy protection. In other words, user privacy can decrease or increase due to alleged anticompetitive practices. An antitrust privacy dilemma? From a law and economics standpoint, the paper solves this dilemma and proposes a new way of resolving antitrust cases related to privacy. Section 2 analyses the dilemma. It proposes an analytical framework. Section 3 proposes a new way of resolving cases. It suggests a coordinated participative approach with competition and non-competition regulators and stakeholders to address competition and privacy concerns with tailored remedies to what is necessary without eliminating pro-privacy effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in differentiated policy implementation in the European Union is in vogue because of its strengths for deploying public policies and assessing policy outcomes. This article sets out a path dependency argument about the dynamics of differentiated customs policy implementation in the EU. We analyse two highly representative cases of customs fraud to develop a quantitative and qualitative approach to the impact of customisation on customs control performance: the first, linked to an exercise of unfair competition; the second, a case of customs common standards 'misinterpretation' related to path dependency. We conclude that differentiated policy implementation has proved inefficient for ensuring an equivalent level playing field of customs controls in the EU, resulting in three substantial negative outcomes: economic and budgetary; problem-solving capacity; and output legitimacy. Differentiated policy implementation can lead to a competitive disadvantage, especially when dealing with policies that do not permit any graduation in their fulfilment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the perspectives of undergraduate tourism and hospitality students on working with robots and the influence of the widespread use of robots on future careers. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with thirty students. The findings include two main categories: working with robots in the tourism and hospitality industry (advantages of working with robots, disadvantages of working with robots, and willingness to work with or implement robots) and future career impacts of the widespread use of robots (threatening human employment, reducing the motivation toward working in the industry, unfair competition between humans and robots, negative psychological impact/feeling of being less skilled than robots, and giving up/changing the industry). This research contributes to the literature by revealing the dimensions of working with robots and the future career impacts of the widespread use of robots. A model of future career impacts of the widespread use of robots was also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Google Shopping judgment, the General Court refers to Google's super-dominance and with it its stronger obligation not to allow its behaviour to impair effective competition. The concept of super-dominance suggests that certain conduct could breach Article 102 TFEU only when adopted by super-dominant undertakings, but it remains uncertain how exactly it contributes to finding an abuse. The aim of this paper is to analyze the Google Shopping judgment in relation to the concept of super-dominance. We explore how the concept has evolved in the case-law and what role it has played when establishing an abuse of dominance and analyze whether reliance on super-dominance in the case law is consistent with the effects-based approach. Finally, we examine how Google Shopping fits with the evolution of super-dominance in the case law and the effects-based approach and what it means for the regulation of digital gatekeepers going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is today a guiding objective of the EU. This article therefore analyses if and how it can be integrated in competition law and more specifically in the antitrust rules of art. 101 TFEU. This paper first explains the legal background of sustainable development, its economic, social and environmental dimensions on the international scene and highlights its enshrinement in the EU treaties. It then focuses on its environmental dimension and identifies three routes to integration in EU competition law: (i) the agreements not restricting competition while protecting the environment; (ii) the objective necessity route whereby agreements whose restrictions on competition are objectively justified and proportionate make them fall outside of the scope of art. 101 TFEU; (iii) and the exemption route of art. 101 (3) TFEU. This article analyses each of these routes and puts forward the legal points requiring clarifications or modifications in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role and meaning of the concept of "fairness" in the application of European competition law, and in particular of Art, 102 of TFEU, It argues that, with its emphasis on firms competing on the bases of their superior performance, the paradigm of competition on the merits may well be considered a reference for the definition of whether a conduct by a dominant undertaking may be considered "fair". The paper finds support for this in the case law of the European Courts and the Commission, as well as in the legal constructions characterizing EU jurisprudence, such as the "special responsibility" of a dominant firm and the "essential facility" doctrine. This view of fairness is also at the bases of the application of art. 102 through the different issues posed by the development of data based digital economy; the paper also argues that such a view helps clarifying the criteria to be used when applying the principles set by the European Courts with respect to the application of art. 102 to excessive prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proceeds on the assumption that Chinese legislators are likely to choose special legislation of a property rights regime to protect publicly accessible datasets. Under such legislation, data collectors would be granted limited exclusive rights (right of public communication). It is argued that there should be three principal eligibility requirements in relation to such datasets, namely: the data entries in a dataset are made public; it contains a substantial number of data entries; and, it reflects a substantial collection cost to the collector. Through these elements, the special property rights legislation can be connected consistently with the existing trade secret protection system and copyright law. It can be distinguished from the US-style hot news doctrine and EU-style database directive to achieve different legislative purposes and effectively balance the interests of data collectors, competitors, and the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to address the impact of digitisation of the agricultural market in assessing the market definitions in the context of potential harm to competition in this sector. In doing so, the emphasis will be on the role of trust, frontier technologies, and intellectual property in this market and the article asks the question how the transfer, processing, and analytics of data can be made broadly accessible to all stakeholders, while assessing regulation on the basis of competition law and the law against unfair competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unanticipated global mass panic that has arisen as a result of the rapid spread of the COVID-19 has had a major impact on the functioning of many markets. Many competition authorities around the world have faced with excessive pricing practices due to the dramatic price hikes of essential items, ranging from personal and medical equipment to basic food products particularly at the onset of the pandemic. The crisis has not been just about pricing, whether the public or the state is willing to pay for certain products or not; at the heart of the problem, there has been a sudden sharp asymmetry between the supply and demand. Based on this asymmetry, this article, by acknowledging that Article 102 (a) fails to deliver a swift and efficient response to this crisis due to conceptual and practical difficulties in its application, addresses other ways that competition authorities and governments use to deal with the virus-profiteers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the legality of online sales bans in selective distribution agreements in the EU, focusing on the "luxury brand image" justification as per the CJEU judgements and the decisions of the EC and national competition authorities. The paper questions the criteria for determining what constitutes a luxury trademark, and whether it is fair to distinguish (or even discriminate) between luxury and non-luxury trademarks, considering that both should have effective control and choice of the distribution of their goods. The paper concludes that the success of the selective distribution system depends on the effective control the trademark owner exercises over it, irrespective of whether or not it is covered by the aura of luxury. The non-luxury brands currently may justify their restrictions on sales on third party platforms under the unfair competition grounds. The selective distribution system should aim at protecting trademark image, which may not necessarily be luxury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moral economy has been conceived by E.P. Thompson as being inextricably linked to popular reactions to the emergence of the free market and the government policies promoting it. How useful can the concept be in the study of social groups that form an organic part of the capitalist market and benefit from its expansion – while simultaneously being part of the popular classes? In focusing on the small shopkeeper, can we identify elements of moral economy in their views that are contrary to the logic of the market and the conventional wisdom of liberal political economy? This article offers a thorough examination of the case of Greek shopkeepers between 1916 and 1945. It presents their views regarding issues of profiteering and fair profit; unfair competition and licensed professions; and black markets and the relationship of shopkeepers to the community. The main conclusion is that a broader definition of moral economy than Thompson's is needed in order to incorporate shopkeepers' perceptions, freed from the obligatory reference to customary practice and tradition and the element of direct action of the crowd. Therefore, a novel distinction is proposed between a narrow and a broad definition of the moral economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, the judiciary has been tasked with characterising a provision in EU secondary law as an overriding mandatory provision ("OMP") in the sense of Art 9(1) Rome I Regulation. This paradigm has however shifted recently as the legislator has started setting out such OMP characterisation explicitly, which this paper addresses with regard to EU Directives. The analysis of two Directives on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and on the resolution of financial institutions reveals that their explicit legislative characterisations of OMPs can benefit legal certainty if properly drafted by the EU and correctly transposed into national law by the Member States. These requirements have not yet been fully met as there are inconsistencies and confusion with only domestically mandatory provisions, which need to be resolved. More generally, the paper elucidates the tensions of competence between legislators and courts on both the EU and national levels due to the explicit legislative characterisation. It also considers the side effects on pre-existing and future provisions in Directives without explicit legislative characterisation. Finally, it acknowledges that the extraterritorial effect of OMPs is intensified and therefore requires the legislator to seek international alignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploitative abuse of a dominant position is a long-recognized category of infringements of what is now Article 102 TFEU. Article 102's prohibition originated in the EEC Treaty, which broke down barriers and prohibited restraints on competition so the free market could reign. But every exploitative abuse case is a breach of faith in the market. And punishing exploitative abuse weakens the rule of law: No rule or standard controls, so potential infringers have no way to know what is expected of them. Exploitative abuse should be abandoned, and this essay argues that doing so would not disrespect the text of Article 102, ignore the intentions of the EEC Treaty's drafters, or undermine any stated goal of the Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the effects of the United States (U.S.) anti-dumping policy targeting China's steel products, based on the HS 10-digit code monthly data from 1995 to 2015. It shows that as soon as the U.S. government implemented the affirmative preliminary ruling of an anti-dumping case, the volume of Chinese exports to the U.S. decreased regardless of the outcome of the final ruling. In the meantime, the U.S. imports of the involved products from other competing countries increased. It further finds that China's exports of the impacted products were diverted to the third-party countries, most of which were developing countries. This finding is contrary to those of studies from other industries such as textiles and agricultural products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes how exchange rate risk exposure and foreign industry competition affect Chinese industries. Using the data from 2005 to 2018, the authors find that industry competition from the US has a statistically significant influence on 33.3 percent of Chinese industries. Unsurprisingly, tradable goods benefit more from depreciation of the Renminbi against the US dollar. Counterintuitively, only 20 percent of the industries supported by the 'Made in China 2025' initiative is sensitive to US industrial competition. In addition, on average Chinese industries face international competition from few developed countries, such as the Netherlands; and depreciation of RMB against the Japanese yen is hurting Chinese industries on average. Developing countries, however, exert marginal competition effects on their Chinese counterparts in the sample period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using firm-level data, we document that politically connected firms (PCFs) create more jobs than unconnected firms in Lebanon. We observe, however, that the presence of PCFs in a sector is correlated with lower job creation. Although causality is difficult to establish due to endogeneity issues, we find that PCFs expand, and non-PCFs retract, more around elections. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that unfair competition by PCFs hurts unconnected competitors so much that aggregate employment growth in the sector is affected negatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the EU's Aid for Trade (AfT) initiative contribute to global justice? Complementing work that considers distributive justice, in this paper we adopt the central tenets of the republican theory of non-domination as a regulative ideal for justice in international relations. We evaluate the extent to which the EU's AfT initiative results from reduced political domination in international trade negotiations, and if that then mitigates economic dependency between European and African states. We first provide a qualitative account of the processes that led to the establishment and subsequent development of AfT. We then consider the extent to which the AfT has promoted the reliance of African states on European foreign direct investment (FDI) relative to FDI from other regions (including and especially from within Africa itself) using subnational, project-level, data. Our findings suggest that EU AfT does not reinforce dominating forms of dependency in the international arena, at least when measured by the source of the FDI that it attracts, while AfT is itself an outcome of somewhat less dominating power relations in trade negotiations between wealthier and poorer states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

App stores constitute a quintessential multisided platform market, where a few players (Apple and Google) facilitate transactions between third-party suppliers (app developers) and consumers in exchange for a commission fee. Complicating matters, these app stores are embedded in intricate mobile ecosystems with varying degrees of "openness" to third parties. Increasingly, these third parties are complaining about allegedly anticompetitive practices. In particular, the operators of app stores are said to preference the distribution of their own apps over those of competitors, levy excessive commission fees, and operate in a non-transparent manner. We offer a comprehensive assessment under Article 102 TFEU, examining market definition and market power of app stores, the application of various theories of harm (and corresponding legal tests) to their allegedly anticompetitive behaviour, potential justifications for said behaviour, as well as the impact of the new P2B Regulation and on-going regulatory initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predatory Pricing has often been said to be rare as a unicorn. Accordingly, the legal thresholds a plaintiff has to surmount in establishing predation is prohibitively high across jurisdictions. This article takes on this assumption from a more nuanced economic perspective, focusing on market imperfections, above-cost pricing and contemporaneous recoupment. The ensuing discussion would indicate that predatory pricing is far more common than judicial assumptions take it to be. This article will then proceed to highlight the merits of a multifactorial assessment in lieu of threshold analyses, highlighting the value of abolishing a recoupment condition and of reintroducing a predatory intent factor in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abundant literature on the UK's Brexit-decision has focused on explaining the politicization and preference formation leading up to the referendum. But the institutional background has received much less attention. I argue that as a common-law country with a tradition of parliamentary sovereignty, the UK exhibits institutional features that pose a significant mismatch to the prevailing policymaking mode in the European Union. The latter relies heavily on the constitutionalization of the EU-Treaties with the four freedoms, competition law, and citizenship rights, and accords an extraordinary role to the European Court of Justice in policymaking. Constitutionalized European rules regarding freedom of movement and EU citizens' access to the welfare state drove the politicization of EU-membership in the UK. To understand why 'taking back control' found such resonance, it is important to reflect the core features of the UK polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European defense-industrial panorama is rapidly changing. Among all the initiatives conducted, the European Defense Fund (EDF) and the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PeSCo) in defense can be easily considered as proof of a revived interest in defense-industrial cooperation. Given this European activism, it is not surprising that the academic literature has focused on the main actors and the main strategic and economic drivers that have spurred European defense-industrial cooperation. However, the scholarly literature on the topic has erroneously over-emphasized the cooperative elements, while underestimating the peculiarities of a policy-field which remains characterized by both cooperative and competitive dynamics. Indeed, notwithstanding the presence of stable alliances, common regulations in defense procurement and a number of transnational business groups, the European defense-industrial field remains also fragmented in terms of both supply and demand. The article has two goals: first, it proposes a Liberal-Intergovernmentalist research agenda to explain the complex mix of cooperation and competition in this policy-field. Second, it aims to reflect on methodological issues in studying European armaments policies. Overall, the article wants to stimulate a constructive discussion, both from a theoretical and a methodological point of view, on a peculiar policy area that acts as an interface of industrial, technological and defense policies and lies at the intersection of International Relations (IR) traditional distinction between low and high politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conditionality is a powerful motivator of reforms in countries seeking membership to regional organizations, yet once the country achieves membership, the fate of the reforms becomes uncertain. In practice, while some reforms are overturned, others survive and flourish. This paper explores why some reforms survive and become effective. I argue that the emergence of a pro-reform domestic constituency, and the support of other international organizations help ensure reforms' durability, while the strength of the domestic constituency explains the variation in effective implementation. I explore these arguments empirically in Mexico and Turkey, two countries that adopted competition laws under the conditionality of NAFTA and the EU-Turkey Customs Union. The empirical analysis supports the argument that competition laws were maintained thanks to the emergence of pro-competition constituencies and the support of organizations such as the OECD, while their effective implementation has depended on the strength of domestic constituencies in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notwithstanding the lack of a theoretical elaboration at the EU level, hub-and-spoke arrangements are increasingly surfacing at national level as useful smokescreen to hide anticompetitive conduct. Due to their features favourable to collusion, hub-and-spoke arrangements may represent the future of Article 101 TFEU. This paper aims at providing an analysis of the characteristics of hub-and-spoke arrangements and their interpretative challenges to allow interpreters and courts to correctly deal with them in real-life. The morphology of these arrangements and the indications provided by the available case-law will be first addressed. Then, following a description of the limited EU relevant case-law, the black areas of the EU hub-and-spoke elaboration will be singled out and its relationship with the case-law on information exchange will be investigated. Finally, a proposal of a EU legal assessment of hub-and-spoke will be made and tested with respect to the hub-and-spoke based on information gathered from the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition law is characterized by uncertainty: the vagueness and open-ended character of its provisions and the creative approach of enforcers and case-law indeed blur considerably the boundaries between lawful and unlawful conduct. It submitted that intent – which consists of a mental element coupled with a finalistic element – can be relied upon within the competition assessment as a useful disambiguating factor. To do so, however, the case-law should come clear as to intent importance and relinquish the orthodox position pursuant to which intent would be immaterial or accessory for competition law assessment. This because such position, despite being reinstated in theory as a mantra, is in substance often disavowed: intent importance is particularly evident under an Article 102 TFEU perspective. Furthermore, albeit in more limited cases, intent is also relied upon within Article 101 TFEU analysis, showing that its disambiguating role can be important for the whole competition law assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitous process of digitization changes economic competition on markets in several ways and leads to the emergence of new business models. The increasing roles of digital platforms as well as data-driven markets represent two relevant examples. These developments challenge competition policy, which must consider the special economic characteristics of digital goods and markets. In Germany, national competition law was amended in 2017 in order to accommodate for digitization-driven changes in the economy and plans for further changes are already discussed. We review this institutional change from an economics perspective and argue that most of the reform's elements point into the right direction. However, some upcoming challenges may have been overlooked so far. Furthermore, we discuss whether European competition policy should follow the paragon of the German reform and amend its institutional framework accordingly. We find scope for reform particularly regarding data-driven markets, whereas platform economics appear to be already well-established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 8 years of investigation, the European Commission decided that Google has abused its market dominance by giving prominent placement in its search results to its own comparison shopping service, whilst demoting rival services. This paper discusses the first of these conducts. The paper will assess the harm arising from Google's conduct on consumers and merchants, and will discuss the importance of causality in proving that a conduct is abusive. The paper will also briefly present the remedies for Google's conduct. The argument made herein is that the Commission's decision enters uncharted territories in unilateral conduct enforcement and the decision is subject to criticisms which will be analysed herein. The paper shall assess the implications of the Commission's approach and remedies in this case for future enforcement in unilateral conduct cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an on-going debate about restrictions of internet sales and vertical agreements during the last years. Producers started to impose restrictive rules for the distribution of their products via the internet, arguably due to the increase of "free-riders" negatively affecting fair price competition (as the so-called free-riders benefit from, for example, "no cost" expert advice given in brick and mortar shops). In this respect, it has been subject to controversy, whether online restrictions imposed by producers operating a selective distribution network on their retailers qualify as restrictions by object or restrictions by effect. In this respect, the European Court of Justice's judgement in Pierre Fabre as well as the German decisions in Adidas and Asics fuelled controversial debates. However, the ECJ's ruling in Coty might have shed light on restrictions of online sales in selective distribution agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the implications of big data for competition law, with a focus on personal data and the concerns that data may give rise to in merger review. One of the biggest challenges for competition authorities in the digital age is how to deal with data and privacy issues in their competitive analysis. An emerging issue is the role of competition in protecting consumers from potential privacy risks flowing from the increasing number of mergers in digital markets. The article considers how personal data in the digital economy are considered a currency in exchange for online offerings, and how a loss of privacy can be factored into quality competition. It concludes by addressing some of the challenges with incorporating privacy as a non-price parameter in competition analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present contribution seeks to provide a normative justification for the better consideration of employment and its negative social consequences in the area of mergers. First, it challenges the widespread rhetoric of competition policy when advancing economic efficiency as a goal of competition policy. Second, it argues that the promotion of efficiency-driven, fierce competition comes at the expense of other sensible social values, such as job creation. As evidenced by statistics, this contribution unravels how job cuts follow from mergers and acquisitions. It argues (i) in favour of an overhaul of the efficiency defence with the aim of focusing more actively on job creation, or at least on balancing the number of job cuts with the number of newly created jobs and (ii) against anti-competitive practices such as social dumping and camouflage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hardly any doctrine of competition law has been modified more significantly by digitization than tying and bundling. While it was originally developed for the combined sale of two products, this concept was recently applied to cases like software integration or the prioritized display in search engine rankings. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to shed some light on the reasons that let the concept of tying and bundling evolve in the digital context. On the basis of Post-Chicago School concepts, it is argued that digital markets are particularly vulnerable to tying and bundling practices. This led to a broadening of the scope of the doctrine of tying and bundling: It may be applied to all cases where consumers are nudged to demand a supplementary product, thereby foreclosing the market for this supplementary product. In the context of digital markets, the doctrine tying and bundling thus evolved into a general theory of leveraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An often made claim is that high drug prices are necessary for innovation. We qualify the innovation claim. Drug prices can be too high when the price exceeds the value of the drug to society. Such prices lead to investment distortions. We propose a benchmark for identifying these cases in practice. Using the Netherlands as an example, we show that when innovation incentives are distorted. In these instances high prices crowd out other health investments and distort innovation. We subsequently discuss how competition law can be applied in this area. We conclude that in the case that a country pays more for a drug under patent protection than the proper willingness to pay, competition authorities can use this feature not only to counteract the argument that such prices are needed for innovation but also as an additional way to operationalize the United Brands test for excessive prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remedies form an essential tool of any enforcement action and need to be devised with great caution from National Competition Authorities (NCAs). If the remedy is ineffective, the enforcement action does not reach the desired objective and resources will have been wasted. If the remedy is disproportionate, the decision is put at risk in a possible subsequent appeal. Remedies either behavioural or structural imposed by competition authorities seek to eliminate unilateral or/and coordinated effects as a result of the merger and restore competition on the relevant market(s) to the status quo ante. Moreover, remedy packages have typically included extensive structural divestments to remove competition concerns. The scope of this paper is to examine various issues relating to the imposition of remedies in merger cases focusing on the gas and electricity sectors (i.e. commodity and capacity release programmes, customer release schemes, network related remedies). This study relies on the energy sector with a view to developing general principles for imposing effective remedies in other sectors as well. Given the nature of competition in energy markets, particularly effective remedies are those that involve gas release programmes, the sale of price-setting generation plants, network assets, and controlling stakes in merging parties' competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EU competition law appears to interpret fairness in B2B trade relations as "equal opportunities to trade" for market actors. A positive and pragmatic inquiry into the relevant regulations, cases and doctrines support that approach. This contribution suggests a new definition for these practices under EU competition law. Accordingly, any trade practice representing supremacy in bargaining power - usually dominance - and distorting the equal opportunity to trade of one or more trading partners could be conceived as unfair trade practices (UTPs) under EU competition law. Thus, these practices restrict competition according to EU competition law. Indeed, the EU Commission, Parliament and many Member States have emphasized the restrictive effects of UTPs even when practised by non-dominant undertakings. UTPs could include all kinds of trade practices toward trading partners, regardless of the industry and environment in which they occur, whether online or offline. This definition can also relieve competition lawyers from inefficient exploitative/exclusionary abusive conduct divisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Facebook proceeding of the German Federal Cartel Office is the latest among a number of competition law investigations that target large USAmerican technology companies. The Office suspects that Facebook abused its dominant position on the market for social networks by imposing unfair data privacy conditions upon its users. This preliminary finding presents a legal novelty because it relies mainly on the fact that the company violated rules outside of competition law, namely data protection law. This calls for a wider evaluation of the currently debated relationship of competition and data protection law. We investigate if such an abuse theory is also conceivable under EU competition law, specifically under Art 102 TFEU. Although the Court of Justice of the European Union separates competition and data protection law strictly, it hinted at a different understanding in a recent judgment. Also, the sentiment of the nascent 'Vestager School' with its emphasis on fairness may support this theory of an abuse. We conclude that this novel concept is conceivable under EU law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In August 2016, drivers delivering meals in London after being booked via the platforms 'deliveroo' and 'UberEATS' made headlines by challenging working practices in the gig-economy through collective industrial action. Dissatisfaction resulted from extremely low levels of pay as well as a new payment calculation system being introduced without consultation. This indicates that the 'gig-economy', though arguably contributing to 'smart cities', may not always constitute the smartest solution for those serving within it. However, it also highlights that collective industrial action is far from structurally impossible for workers in the 'gigeconomy', even though management of labour relies on anonymous and automated micro-management through internet platforms and apps. Indeed, collective organisation may seem the smartest solution for upgrading the gig-economy for its workers. This article develops an original contribution to the interface of smart technology in the gig-economy, collective labour rights, and EU competition law. We identify that EU competition law as interpreted by the Court of Justice would hinder collective organisation of those serving the gig-economy and develop a comprehensive re interpretation which allows adaptation of EU competition law to smart employment markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oppression actions in Singapore have been the subject of empirical research in light of the possibility that the use of ‘commercial unfairness’ as the test for oppression in Singapore has favoured plaintiffs to the extent that businesses have been damaged by successful or even unsuccessful oppression suits. The findings, however, only prove that the complexity of oppression actions has increased. Consideration should still be given to whether some form of contractarianism ought to guide this area of law. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of fair trade to achieve economic justice through markets depends on establishing, via moral education, bonds of solidarity between Northern consumers and impoverished Southern producers. Moral education is increasingly realised by commercial brands who take advantage of the opportunities offered by social media. This article analyses the discursive construction of solidarity in the brand communication of Pukka (UK) and Pizca del Mundo (Poland) on Facebook. It identifies 3 discourses of solidarity: ‘solidarity through legitimation’, which presents the rationale for solidarity with Southern producers; ‘solidarity through affinity’, which constructs a moral economy between Southern producers and Northern consumers; and ‘solidarity through lifestyle’, which proposes everyday actions that can be undertaken by consumers to support Southern producers. These discourses are employed by the brands to different extents, with Pizca del Mundo attempting to establish a fair trade market in Poland and Pukka with an aim to increase sales of their fair trade products. The article concludes that primarily the discourses of ‘solidarity through legitimation’ and ‘solidarity through affinity’ serve moral education whose objective is to generate sustained commitment towards Southern producers as distant others. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since its launch in 2007, Android has become the dominant mobile device operating system worldwide. In light of this commercial success and certain disputed business practices, Android has come under substantial attention from competition authorities. We present key aspects of Google’s strategy in mobile, focusing on Android-related practices that may have exclusionary effects. We then assess Google’s practices under competition law and, where appropriate, suggest remedies to right the violations we uncover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standardization Association made some controversial changes to its patent policy. The changes include a recommended method of calculation of FRAND royalty rates, and a request to members holding a standard-essential patent to forego their right to seek an injunction except under limited circumstances. The updated policy was adopted by the IEEE Board of Directors after obtaining a favourable Business Review Letter by the US Department of Justice, which found any potential competitive harm from the policy to be outweighed by potential pro-competitive benefits. In this paper, we examine whether the same favourable conclusion would be reached under EU competition analysis. After discussing the role of patent policies of standard-setting organizations and the rules and principles applicable to the IEEE's activities, the paper concludes that standardization agreements based on the updated policy may constitute a violation of article 101 TFEU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent of economic analysis on which Competition Authorities (CAs) and Courts rely, in assessing whether specific conducts violate Competition Law (CL), depends crucially on the legal standard adopted. We examine the factors influencing the choice of legal standards, and hence the extent of economic analysis and evidence applied in CL enforcement, focusing on the recent literature. We suggest explanations about why the decisions of CAs in relation to the utilization of economic evidence may diverge from the social welfare-maximizing decisions. These explanations rely on the realistic assumption that CAs derive utility not only (or primarily) from the social welfare impact of their decisions but also from their reputation or public image. Finally we consider some preliminary empirical evidence providing support for these explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the protection of universal service in the network industries, with a focus on the postal service and telecommunications sectors. We define the concept of universal service and explain how it was seen as a necessary quid pro quo for securing the liberalization agenda in the EU. We go on to explain and analyse the two competing means of protecting and compensating universal service, either under the State aid regime or the relevant sectoral legislation. In order to gain a better understanding of how these competing mechanisms operate in practice, we look in detail at two areas where liberalization and universal service are in particular tension: (i) high-speed broadband and (ii) letter collection and delivery. We conclude by discussing some of the problems of using State aid rules as a substitute for a sectoral framework and contemplate the future of universal service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we analyse Fair Trade as a form of non-state regulation, building on the literature on the internal politics and governance of Fair Trade International (FTI) certification. We focus on recent developments in the FTI certification system, including the split of Fair Trade USA from FTI and the emergence of the Small Producer's Symbol (SPP) as an alternative to FTI certification. We highlight the role of the three regional Producer Networks, in particular the Latin American Producer Network, the CLAC, in the politics and governance of the FTI system. In order to analyse these issues we employ an alternative reading of Karl Polanyi's work in relation to Fair Trade. We problematise the claim made by some in the literature that FTI certification is an example of Polanyi's concept of re-embedding. Instead, we draw on Polanyi's concept of oversight to analyse Fair Trade certification. We argue that the emergence of the SPP out of the CLAC shows promise for being a mechanism of oversight more reflective of Polanyian re-embedding than FTI certification. We also emphasise how the growth of the SPP and the pressure from the Producer Networks have prompted governance reform within the FTI system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to understand the local dimensions of global social movements, focusing specifically on the fair trade movement. As activists in different communities across the US and around the world continue to launch local fair trade initiatives and campaigns, how do we begin to understand this phenomenon and what it represents? How do we interpret and make sense of local fair trade movements? How are the discourses of global movements translated into collective action in local settings? And are these discourses rearticulated during this process of translation to make them more relevant to different local communities? Finally, what are the broader implications of these local processes of translation and rearticulation of global discourses? I explore these questions in a case study of the local Fair Trade City and anti-sweatshop movement in Chicago and provide a theoretically informed account of this case. I argue that local fair trade initiatives represent examples of generative practices that build alternatives and aim to promote citizen engagement, and share many of the features of new social movements. I also argue that when global ideas and discourses are translated into local organizing and activism, a process of translation, rearticulation, and recontextualization can give them new meanings and significance for specific communities. This process can expand the social base of activism as global discourses interact with local circumstances and are rearticulated by creative local change agents. This in turn can create new opportunities for alliances and coalitions between different social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to understand the consistency between attitudes toward ethical brands and consistency with the respondents’ recent purchase behavior. A study of 202 respondents was carried out in order to observe consistency between claimed ethical attitudes and self-reported purchase behavior across three product categories. Panel data (n = 8000) was utilized to provide a large sample on which a duplication of purchase analysis could be conducted. Results suggest many consumers claim to have ethical attitudes, but their reported purchases suggest their behavior is not consistent. Consumers who purchase fair trade brands are just as likely to purchase other, non–fair trade brands. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we first point out that the different conceptualisations of Fair Trade, which are sometimes analytically contradictory, actually form a coordinated set. Understanding the Fair Trade project is impossible without taking these interlinked conceptualisations into consideration. Second, this set basically forms a mechanism of structural, institutional and moral reforms that guide actions. In this way Fair Trade sets out to produce less injustice than is usually the case with the structures and institutions that govern conventional trade. Nevertheless, it does not try to define what a just society is or even to perfectly define ‘fair trade’. This implies the adoption of a comparative justice angle. It is precisely by linking comparative individual situations with the structures that produce these situations that relative justice can find its strength and purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]