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Competition Law
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry sets the overall policy framework for competition, but is only involved in public interest decisions under the Enterprise Act.
UK Competition cases may be dealt with by the competition authorities under the following Acts and Regulations.
The Enterprise Act
The Enterprise Act received Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. The Act includes reforms to merger and monopoly regimes with decisions taken by independent competition authorities, new duties for OFT to promote competition, and criminal penalties for those involved in cartels.
Competition Act 1998
The Competition Act 1998 came into force on the 1 March 2000. It introduces two main prohibitions:
• Chapter I: a prohibition of anti-competitive agreements, based closely on Article 81 of the EC treaty; and
• Chapter II: a prohibition of abuse of a dominant position in a market, based closely on Article 82 of the EC Treaty
Competition Act 1998 EC Modernisation
Regulation 1/2003 (the ‘modernisation’ Regulation), which was adopted in November 2002 and came into force on 1 May 2004, replaced Regulation 17/62 and radically reforms the framework of European competition law.
EC Merger Regulation (ECMR)
Large Mergers with a European dimension may be covered by the European Community Merger Regulation (ECMR) - Council Regulation No. 139/2004.
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