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The doctrine of the ban on parallel imports within competition law of the European Union
Neuwirth, František ; Šmejkal, Václav (advisor) ; Svoboda, Pavel (referee)
THE DOCTRINE OF THE PROHIBITION ON PARALLEL IMPORTS RESTRICTIONS WITHIN COMPETITION LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION The aim of this thesis is to analyse the current approach of EU competition law to parallel imports restrictions in light of nearly a half-century of EU Courts' case-law's evolution and in comparison with the approach adopted by US antitrust law. The traditional attitude of the EU Courts and of the Commission towards competition restraints of this type is described in literature in clear terms. However, this is not the case when it comes to the recent and current ambiguous developments within EU competition law. Therefore, this thesis aims to verify these two hypotheses. The first hypothesis says that evolution of the EU institutions approach to parallel imports restrictions has a circular nature: it starts from the traditional, intransigent position adopted in the early decades of European integration and it continues through a more lenient, economic approach in the period of the so called modernization of EU competition law to return to a rather traditional attitude typical of the current times. According to the second hypothesis, the current EU institutions' attitude towards parallel imports restrictions has nevertheless been shifted, during the modernization period, to a more...
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Competition Law - Control of Concentrations between Undertakings
Luptáková, Lucia ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Čech, Petr (referee)
The subject of this thesis is the control of mergers as it is regulated by Czech laws. Control of mergers is one of the cornerstones of competition law. Competition is an important attribute of the market oriented economies all over the world. Since it is not capable of self-regulation it is necessary to set limits for the behavior of the subjects that are taking part in this competition. These limits are set by competition law. The topic is divided into three chapters. The first chapter contains definition of the term competition, in the second there are described basic terms common to all areas of competition law, while at the end of this chapter there is a description of these areas. In the last chapter focus is on control of concentrations itself in the ambit of Czech law. The aim of this work is to describe merger control as it is provided by Act No. 143/2001 on Protection of Competition (ZOHS). The emphasis is on describing different forms of merger and their characteristics which must be met so that a certain transaction could be classified as a merger. Furthermore, this work provides information on conditions that must be fulfilled so that a merger, division of a company and termination of the company accompanied by transfer of assets to its partner - according to the Czech law on...
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Abuse of dominant position in Czech law and European law
Peták, Šimon ; Černá, Stanislava (advisor) ; Patěk, Daniel (referee) ; Kindl, Jiří (referee)
This paper analyzes regulation of abuse of dominant position under the law of the European Union and under the Czech law. Both the European and Czech competition laws are not only very similar, as the Czech Act on Protection of Competition is inspired by the European competition law, but after the so called modernization of the European competition law, including the decentralization of its enforcement, the Czech authorities are entitled (and obliged at the same time) to apply the European competition law. Given the special relation between the two legal orders, this paper does not attempt to compare the two, but rather to analyze them it their mutual relation, which is the basic view for the submitted analysis. Firstly, a basic introduction to the problems of competition economics is presented, including characteristics of the basic functions and principles thereof. An explanation of the economic background and different models of competition follows, particularly of those important for understanding the specifics of dominant undertakings' behaviour and motivation. Models of monopoly, oligopoly and monopolistic competition are briefly described in opposition to the model of perfect competition and also some other important approaches to this issue are addressed, including the basic views of the...
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State Aid in the international law
Traurig, Vojtěch Pavel ; Pauknerová, Monika (advisor) ; Poláček, Bohumil (referee) ; Dolanská Bányaiová, Lucie (referee)
State aid law is one of the most important categories of the competition law in the European Union. The state as such has an unprecedented advantage compared to other competitors: the state disposes of a huge amount of funds which could be easily distributed in favor of the privileged undertakings. The risk of the distorting effect on competition is high; thus, strict rules are necessary. The thesis is divided into five parts: introduction, the part focusing on international treaties, the general part, specific provisions and the conclusion. Part two of this thesis deals with the respective international treaties relevant for the aid schemes. There are three groups of such international treaties: the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures adopted in the WTO system, the anti-aid measures in the European Economic Area and the anti- subsidies mechanism towards the third countries (i.e. non-members of EEA or WTO). This part describes these three mechanisms and their common principles. Part three of the thesis is dedicated to the general provision. Section 3.1 deals with the term "state aid", describes the main criteria for qualification of the aid as a state aid incompatible with the internal market. I also focused on two judgments of the Tribunal which I considered important for the used...
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Competition Law - Control of Concentrations between Undertakings
Luptáková, Lucia ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Čech, Petr (referee)
Competition law - control of concentrations between undertakings Abstract The subject of this thesis is the control of mergers as it is regulated by Czech laws. Control of mergers is one of the cornerstones of competition law. Competition is an important attribute of the market oriented economies all over the world. Since it is not capable of self-regulation it is necessary to set limits for the behavior of the subjects that are taking part in this competition. These limits are set by competition law. The topic is divided into three chapters. The first chapter contains definition of the term competition, in the second there are described basic terms common to all areas of competition law, while at the end of this chapter there is a description of these areas. In the last chapter focus is on control of concentrations itself in the ambit of Czech law. The aim of this work is to describe merger control as it is provided by Act No. 143/2001 on Protection of Competition (ZOHS). The emphasis is on describing different forms of merger and their characteristics which must be met so that a certain transaction could be classified as a merger. Furthermore, this work provides information on conditions that must be fulfilled so that a merger, division of a company and termination of the company accompanied by transfer...
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The Legal Exceptions from the Cartel Prohibition with Regard to Crisis Cartels
Kolářová, Tereza ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Čech, Petr (referee)
The Legal Exceptions from the Cartel Prohibition with Regard to Crisis Cartels English summary The purpose of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive perspective on the issue of the legal exceptions from the cartel prohibition, carry out a detailed analysis of Czech and European material regulation contained in the Article 3 paragraph 4 of the Act No. 143/2001 Coll. on Protection of Competition, as amended and in the Article 101 paragraph 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, focus on the application of the legal exceptions to the crisis cartels from the practical point of view, particularly on their usage by undertakings and on the approach to the crisis cartels by national competition authorities, European Commission and competition authorities from other selected countries outside Europe. The thesis is composed of four parts. The first part deals with the basic characteristics of the cartel, describes the concept of cartel, European and Czech legislation regarding cartels and competition in general and divides the cartels according to their form and relationship of participants. The second part focuses on the prohibition of anticompetitive conduct in the form of cartels, examines the merits of the cartel and highlights the consequences of breaching the prohibition. It is necessary to...
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The Protection of Economic Competition with Special Regard to Pricing
Cejpek, Jan ; Horáček, Vít (advisor) ; Eichlerová, Kateřina (referee)
Legal rules protecting the economic competition against abusive pricing practices are traditionally part of the public branch of competition law. Sensitive drafting of the law by legislator or the prudence of law interpretation by the competition authority or the court in the specific case predetermines the companies` willingness to develop dynamically on the relevant market. Legislation of the poor quality prospectively misleading decisional practice can lead in two extreme situations; on one side unlimited freedom for the dominant company, on the other side unfounded and excessive sanctions, which distract the companies` ambitions to achieve excellence. The topic - The Protection of Economic Competition with Special Regard to Pricing - is dealt in five chapters of the thesis. The aim of the paper is to analyze substantial components in each price form of abuse, solve the relevant questions of law with regard to case study concerning both the European and the Czech context and consider where the development of this law field currently results in. The methodology is mainly based on the comparative and critical research of the decisional practice. Chapter One surveys predatory pricing. It contains passage on the price-costs test, which is the major issue also for the following chapters of the study....
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Private Enforcement of EU Competition Law
Šimeková, Zuzana ; Král, Richard (advisor) ; Šmejkal, Václav (referee) ; Svobodová, Magdaléna (referee)
1 Thesis Summary Private Enforcement of EU Competition Law Zuzana Šimeková 1. Starting points and goals of the thesis The main goal of my thesis is the application of the ever-evolving contemporary issues of private enforcement of the EU competition law, its developments in the legislative area and the decision- making practice of the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ECJ) to the pharmaceutical sector area. As regards the functioning of competition rules, the pharmaceutical sector found itself in the cross-hairs of the European Commission fairly recently. Its efforts resulted in the Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry Final Report of 8 July 2009 (the Final Report). The primary subject-matter of my thesis is the assessment of the competition relationship dynamic between the originator and generic pharmaceutical companies, especially the degree by which the conduct by the originator pharmaceutical companies can delay market entry by the generic pharmaceutical companies and thereby negatively affect the consumers by (among other things) limiting availability of cheaper drugs. Despite the expectations of legal practitioners and academia, the European Commission did not rule in the Final Report whether the discovered conducts constitute violations of the EU competition law. The...
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Collective administration in digital era
Bajáková, Eva ; Wünschová Pujmanová, Alexandra (advisor) ; Žikovská, Petra (referee)
The aim of the present thesis is to examine an impact of reproductive and recording technique and of the global network of the Internet on the institute of collective management of copyright and related rights which forms traditional part of the system of copyright law. Firstly, the thesis embeds an issue of the institute of collective management into the appropriate legal framework and historical context. The delimitation of collective management's purpose follows; an emphasis is placed on the position of the collective manager of copyright as an intermediary between the competing interests of the right holders and interests of users. It is explained that the change of manners of communication of the work to the public from "point-to-mass" to "point-to-point" tends to weaken such position. The real and legal monopoly of collective management is scrutinized and conclusions of academics drawn from the coexistence of copyright management companies on the market in the United States are contrasted in the following part of the thesis. The issue with licenses is addressed. The collision between the potential ubiquity of works made available on the Internet and the principle of territoriality (lex loci protectionis) is described and, simultaneously, legal issues connected with functioning of the system...
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Selected Aspects of Private Enforcement of Competition Law
Navrátil, Petr ; Svoboda, Pavel (advisor) ; Šmejkal, Václav (referee)
Title: Selected Aspects of Private Enforcement of Competition Law The purpose of the study is to analyse and compare selected provisions and legislative proposals regarding to the rules of evidence and locus standi as they are codified in Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and in Czech Rules of Civil Procedure as well as selected aspects of Private Enforcement of Competition Law in UK. It should be stressed the fact that the rules of evidence and locus standi are seen through a prism of antitrust claims for damages. The study is composed of six chapters, each of them dealing with different aspect of Private Enforcement of Competition Law. Chapter One is introductory and defines basic terminology used in the study. Chapter Two focuses on legal basis for antitrust claims for damages. Chapter Three consists of three parts. Part One focuses on locus standi issue in US Law. Part Two is an analysis of proposals of EU Commission as well as relevant judgements of Court of Justice of European Union. Partial conclusions are drawn in Part Three. Chapter Four consists of three parts. Part One investigates the principles of rules of evidence as they are codified in Czech Law. Part Two discusses the American attitude to rules of evidence. Partial conclusions are drawn in Part Three. Chapter Five consists also of...
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