Competition Law in United Kingdom

Definition of Competition Law

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Competition Law : The branch of law concerned with the regulation of *anticompetitive practices, *restrictive trade practices, and abuses of a dominant position (*abuse of a dominant position) or market power. Such laws prohibit *cartels and other commercial restrictive agreements. In the UK the Competition Act 1998 and the Fair Trading Act 1973 contain the legislative provisions. Throughout the EU, Articles 81 and 82 (See *Articles 81; *Article 82) of the Treaty of Rome and regulations made under those provisions contain the legal rules in this area, which constitute EU competition law. Under the de minimis principle, the European Commission has issued a notice that competition rules will be unlikely to apply to agreements affecting trade between member states when the parties to the agreement have a joint market share of 5% or less (10% for *vertical agreements, such as distribution contracts). In the USA competition law is known as antitrust law.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• Competition Law in the Encyclopedia of Britain
• Competition Law in the Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
• Competition Law in the Halsbury’s Laws of England
• Competition Law in the Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases
• Competition Law in the Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law
• Competition Law in the New Oxford Companion to Law
• Competition Law in the Words and Phrases Legally Defined
• Competition Law in the Oxford Dictionary of Law