Competition Regime International Aspect

Competition Regime International Aspect

Mr.Kamban Socrates , Assistant professor , delivered a special lecture on 6 th April 2019 on Topic Competition law international regime he covered various problems and issues relating to competition law in international regime he covered the various aspects of competition law with reference to IPR  .Competition Law all over the world in general and in India in particular is an emerging area. In the wake of the new economic and market conditions, it has gained significant importance so as to regulate he market players. But Competition Law as a discipline has not yet gained th required momentum in law colleges across India.

Competition Law (Anti-Trust law in US and Anti-Monopoly Law in China) balances competition in the market by regulating anti-competitive practices of players. It maintains fair competition in the market. The predecessor of the modern competition law dates back to the restraint of trade practices followed in England which paved way for the development of Anti-Trust law in US in the 19th Century. Presently US and EU are considered to have the most efficient Anti-Competitive legislations and enforcement machinery globally.

Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India guarantees every citizen the right to practice any profession or carry out any occupation, trade or occupation and the state can impose reasonable restriction through legislations. Article 301 read with 302 and 304(b) empower the parliament to reasonably restrict the freedom of trade throughout the territory of India.

In India, the history of competition law dates back to the MRTP Act, 1969 which was intended to control the monopolistic and restrictive trade practices which was detrimental to the consumers and service providers. Consequent to an array of changes in the economy and market, MRTP Act became inadequate to deal with the market practices like predatory pricing, bid rigging, collusion, price fixing etc. Eventually, in 1999, the SVS Raghavan committee was appointed to look into the need for a new law in the regime. Following the recommendations of the Committee, the Competition Act, 2002 was enacted to fine tune Indian competition law with the global regime.

It intends to regulate the manner in which businesses are conducted in India, so as to create a level playing field with effective competition in the market.  To achieve the objectives, the Act has established Competition Commission of India. Competition Appellate tribunal is the Appellate body from where a further appeal lies to the Supreme Court.