The Competition Act, 1998

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At page 9 of the book, Dorothy says 'no other business community in the world [than in the UK] has such a complex and multiplicitous regulation in the field of competition law'. The book is a comprehensive, indeed encyclopaedic, guide to the latest addition to this field of law, the Competition Act 1998. She not only explains in detail the provisions of the statute itself but also the large body of secondary legislation and official guidelines that supports it. Also carefully documented is the relationship between the Act and a battery of other legislation. The opening three chapters provide as thorough an overview as almost anyone is likely to need, and the following chapters then deal in detail with the substantive provisions relating to the two prohibitions, one of anti-competitive agreements (the Chapter I prohibition), the other of conduct amounting to an abuse of a dominant position (the Chapter II prohibition), introduced into UK law by the Act; the procedures involved in the application of the Act, including the institutional set-up; the consequences of infringement of the two prohibitions; the concurrent jurisdiction of the sector regulators; transitional arrangements; and, not least, some implications of possible further reforms, notably the decentralisation of enforcement of European Community competition law. Of all these chapters, Chapter 9 on Procedure in Relation to the Chapter I Prohibition, best demonstrates the thoroughness and value of Dorothy's approach. I have little doubt that for this chapter alone the book will prove an indispensable guide to practitioners and to those likely to be affected by the new law alike. The structure of each of the chapters, with ready recourse to sections and sub-headings to identify the particular topics or points to be discussed, makes it easy for the reader to find a way through a complicated subject, albeit at the cost of some repetition. The textual analysis is leavened here and there with references to debates on the Bill and on amendments as it progressed through Parliament. This feature will be less interesting, though, with the passage of time. A problem with so detailed an exposition as Dorothy has provided is that events will render parts out-of-date: developments in the regulatory regime for the utilities and the broadcasting could be case in point. On the other hand, the passage of time will provide some case law on the application of the Act. Until significant decisions begin to emerge, there is inevitably an element of speculation on how the law will operate. Meanwhile, however, there is Community case law, to which the UK authorities are required to have regard in enforcing the Act (Chapter 5 of the book providing a useful analysis of this governing principles clause), and throughout the book Dorothy provides citations to relevant Community cases and regulations. This is another of the strengths of the book. The book is by a lawyer, primarily for a legal audience. It does not claim to deal with the economies of competition policy. In Chapter 11 on Prohibition of Abuse of a Dominant Position, it is impossible to escape from the economics that underpins the provision. The chapter progresses safely enough through market definition and dominance to a discussion of conduct that might amount an abuse. This discussion, however, is brief and, perhaps unavoidable in the overall context of the book, rather limited as a guide to how the authorities are likely to assess various types of potentially abusive conduct. This comment is in no way to detract from the value of the book. It sets out to be a practical guide and it achieves that objective most effectively.Just about every legal publisher has brought out their own guide to the Competition Act 1998, and this reviewer's own book was published by Blackstone. However Dorothy Livingston's new book is definitely one of the better ones. It waited until all the OFT's guidance notes were issued. The Act has now been in place for almost a year so it is a good time to provide a more detailed and careful treatment. The book contains a copy of the Act which accounts for about a third of its length. The book itself is well researched and detailed. There is a formidable table of cases and yet it achieves a good practical slant which shows it has been written by a practising competition lawyer. There is a good section on land agreements under the Act. The reference from Hansard and OFT Guidance notes and statutory instrument in relation to land agreements show how thoroughly the subject matter has been treated. The other area in which there is much interest but little law is restrictions in sale of a business agreements. The OFT Mergers guidance notes contain two small paragraphs on this. The book does mention the OFT's guidance in this field. Vertical agreements also come up a lot in practice. There is a fascinating dichotomy now between the slightly stricter treatment under the new EU vertical agreements block exemption regulation with its market share and other tests and the almost blanket exemption under the Competition Act. It makes the issue of whether trade betwen member states is affected and thus the EU rules apply very important. Livingston deals with this practically and provides a very useful comparison with the vertical block exemption. The book is obvously fully up to date in respect of the Competition Act 1998. 2000 was a bumper year for new EU laws and the book, although including the vertical regulation, came out too early for the new EU regulation on R&D and specialistion agreements which came into force on 1 January 2001 and horizontal agreements guidelines. That does not matter as the principle - that agreements exempted by an EU exemption regulation are exempt from the UK Act - is clearly described in the text. The book has a forward written by Lord Brittan and useful tables and charts. It is possibly the best recent guide to the Competiion Act 1998 and would be a useful addition to library shelves for both competition and general commercial lawyers. Susan Singleton, solicitor, Singletonswell researched and detailed.