Private enforcement is a hot topic these days—while the Commission has been mulling over general legislation, Great Britain recently took several steps towards encouraging more class actions. To bring everyone up to date, we not only look at what Great Britain did—and did not—accomplish but have also canvassed some of the rest of the world, […]

Christopher Brown, Scott Campbell, Apr 16, 2013 In April 2012, the U.K. Government launched a consultation on possible reform of the U.K. regime for private redress in respect of breaches of competition law. The consultation, which could be seen both as a belated response by the Government to the recommendations on private redress made to it […]

Renato Nazzini, Apr 16, 2013 The process of reform of private actions in the United Kingdom has been a long one. Probably, rightly so. Any reforms aimed at making it easier to bring competition law claims by definition allow claims to be brought that would not have been brought otherwise. This increase in litigation imposes […]

Sharon Robertson, Apr 16, 2013 Free enterprise and competition are critical to the success of a market economy. In the United States, the class action mechanism is one of the most effective and efficient means for consumers to play a part in protecting this basic principle. By treating public citizens as “private attorneys general,” class […]

Adrian Emch, Jonathan Liang, Apr 16, 2013 On March 20, 2013, the Guangdong High People’s Court issued its verdict in the dispute between two leading Chinese information technology companies, Qihoo 360 and Tencent. The court dismissed 360’s claim that Tencent had committed an abuse of dominance in violation of the Anti-Monopoly Law on the grounds that […]

Hao Qian, Apr 16, 2013 Trade associations present a peculiar issue in China’s competition law, due to their unusual origin and development. No voluntarily established business associations were possible or necessary in the era of central planning, when the Chinese economy was based on state-ownership and bureaucratically managed by the government. Only when China embarked […]

Ana Paula Martinez, Mariana Tavares de Araujo, Apr 16, 2013 Private antitrust enforcement in Brazil has been on the rise over the past five years. This may be due to such reasons as the global trend of antitrust authorities encouraging damage litigation by potential injured parties; the growing number of infringement decisions issued by Brazil’s […]

Omar Guerrero Rodriquez, Alan Ramirez Casazza, Apr 16, 2013 For almost 20 years private enforcement for damages of competition law in Mexico was non-existent. As discussed below, there have only been two cases tried before civil courts seeking individual redress for damages as a consequence of violation of Mexican competition law. One explanation for this low […]

Kazunori Furuya, Mitsuo Matsushita, Apr 16, 2013 The Japanese Antimonopoly Law (hereafter referred to as “JAML”) was enacted in 1947 as part of the Economic Democratization Policy introduced into Japan by the Occupation Forces. Originally it was based on U.S. antitrust laws but, after more than 60 years of enforcement, JAML has acquired features unique […]