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Preface page xvii
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List of abbreviations xx
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1
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Introduction 1
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1.1
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The Middle East in geographic terms 1
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1.2
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Geographical coverage of the book 2
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1.3
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The global significance of the Middle East 3
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1.4
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Sharpening the focus 3
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1.5
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The foundations of competition law and policy in the Middle East 4
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1.6
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The five issues 4
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1.6.1
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Foreign direct investment 5
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1.6.2
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Economic growth and poverty 6
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1.6.3
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Corporate governance 7
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1.6.4
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Institutional structure and design 8
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1.6.5
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Competition advocacy 9
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1.7
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Regional cooperation: past, present and future 12
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1.8
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Relationship with the European Community 15
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1.9
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Relationship with EFTA States 17
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1.10
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A book on competition law and policy in the Middle East 17
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2
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The relationship between Islam and competition law and policy 18
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2.1
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The relationship: a myth or reality? 18
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2.2
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Setting the scene: competition law and Islamic roots 19
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2.3
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The role of competition law and policy in an economy 20
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2.4
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Competition law and policy in an Islamic economy 21
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2.4.1
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The Quran 21
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2.4.2
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The source of Ejtihad 22
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2.5
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The role of competition law in Islam: the components 23
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2.5.1
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The value of trade and competition 23
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2.5.2
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Pricing practices and policies 24
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2.5.3
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Abuse of dominance and collusion 26
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2.6
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Enforcement: the principle and institution of Hisba 27
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2.6.1
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The origins of Hisba 28
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2.6.2
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The institutional structure of Hisba 29
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2.6.3
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Expansion and demise of Hisba 30
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2.6.4
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Hisba Bill in Pakistan 31
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2.7
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Conclusions 33
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3
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Israel: the region’s oldest competition law 34
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3.1
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The origins of competition law in Israel: the 1959 Law 35
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3.2
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From the 1959 Law to the 1988 Law and beyond 37
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3.3
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The path towards effective enforcement 39
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3.4
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The treatment of different business phenomena: scope and limitations 41
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3.4.1
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Restrictive arrangements 41
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3.4.1.1
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Definition 41
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3.4.1.2
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Cartels 45
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3.4.1.3
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Vertical agreements 46
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3.4.1.4
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Registration, authorisation and individual exemptions 47
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3.4.1.5
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The block exemption mechanism 50
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3.4.2
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Monopolies and monopolists 53
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3.4.3
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The regulation of mergers 55
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3.5
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Institutional structure 58
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3.5.1
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The Israel Antitrust Authority 58
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3.5.2
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The Restrictive Business Practices Tribunal 60
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3.5.3
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The Exemptions and Mergers Committee 61
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3.5.4
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Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour 61
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3.5.5
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Other bodies and individuals 62
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3.6
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Orders and penalties 62
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3.7
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Role of third parties 63
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3.8
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Competition advocacy 64
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3.9
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International outlook and activities 66
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3.9.1
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Consulting foreign experiences 66
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3.9.2
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Participation in international organisations 67
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3.9.3
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Links with the EC and the EFTA States 68
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3.9.4
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Cooperation with the USA 69
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3.10
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Reflections 70
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3.10.1
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Ex ante regulation v. competition 71
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3.10.2
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The problematic government/business relationship 72
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3.10.3
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Gaps in the Law 72
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3.10.3.1
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Adaptation to a restrictive arrangement 72
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3.10.3.2
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The block exemptions 73
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3.10.4
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The issue of discretion 74
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3.10.5
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Protecting competitors 75
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3.10.6
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Non-competition considerations 75
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3.10.7
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Should the 1988 Law be replaced? 76
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4
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Turkey: a European dream from the other side of the border 78
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4.1
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Arriving at the competition law scene: economic, political and social dynamics 78
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4.2
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The Law on the Protection of Competition 81
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4.2.1
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Aims, scope and nature 82
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4.2.2
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Collusion 84
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4.2.2.1
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The concerted practice presumption 85
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4.2.2.2
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The treatment of vertical agreements 87
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4.2.2.3
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Exemptions 88
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4.2.3
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Abuse of dominance 90
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4.2.4
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Control of concentrations 92
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4.3
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The Competition Authority and Competition Board 95
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4.3.1
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Enforcement and fines 96
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4.3.2
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Appeal and judicial review 97
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4.3.3
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Competition advocacy 98
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4.4
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Private enforcement and actions for damages and compensation 101
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4.5
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Regulatory and supervisory aspects of the regime 102
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4.6
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The burden and standard of proof 105
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4.7
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Market entry and barriers to entry 106
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4.8
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International links within the Middle East and beyond 107
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4.8.1
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The EC–Turkey association 109
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4.8.2
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The Turkey–EFTA States Agreement 111
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4.8.3
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Free trade agreements with MECs 111
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4.8.3.1
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Turkey–Israel FTA 111
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4.8.3.2
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Turkey–Morocco FTA 112
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4.8.3.3
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Turkey–Palestine FTA 112
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4.9
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Reflections 113
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4.9.1
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Social, economic and political issues 113
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4.9.2
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Following the EC model 113
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4.9.3
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The Association and Customs Union Agreements 115
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4.9.4
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Achievement and progress of the authority 117
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4.9.5
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The strict time frames 119
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4.9.6
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General deficiencies 120
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4.9.7
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The Law and free market 122
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4.9.8
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Future directions 123
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5
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The Arab Maghreb countries 125
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5.1
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Algeria: replacing draconian legislation with a mechanism for consultation 125
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5.1.1
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Competition Ordinance 2003 127
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5.1.1.1
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Aims, objectives and scope 127
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5.1.1.2
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Pricing activities and policies 127
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5.1.1.3
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Influence of EC competition law 128
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5.1.1.4
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Non-competition considerations 128
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5.1.2
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The role of the Competition Council 129
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5.1.2.1
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The council’s relationship with other regulators 130
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5.1.2.2
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Penalties and sanctions 131
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5.1.2.3
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Judicial supervision 132
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5.1.3
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International openness and cooperation 132
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5.1.4
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Comments 133
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5.2
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Morocco: a strong desire for modernisation 134
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5.2.1
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Western style: linking with the EC and EFTA 135
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5.2.2
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The Law on the Freedom of Prices and Competition 135
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5.2.2.1
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The scheme of the Law 136
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5.2.2.2
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Free pricing and price regulation 137
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5.2.2.3
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Consumer protection 138
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5.2.2.4
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Conducting investigations 139
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5.2.2.5
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Transparency between professionals 139
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5.2.2.6
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Limitation of supply 140
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5.2.3
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The relevant authorities 140
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5.2.3.1
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The Competition Council 140
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5.2.3.2
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The Commission for Price Supervision 142
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5.2.3.3
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The Central Committee 143
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5.2.3.4
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The courts 144
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5.2.3.5
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Sectoral regulators 144
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5.2.4
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Penalties 144
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5.2.5
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Reflections 148
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5.3
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Tunisia: a pioneer in the Arab world 149
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5.3.1
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Extensive web of international associations 150
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5.3.2
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Developing a competition law framework 152
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5.3.3
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The Competition and Prices Act: goals, scope and underlying policies 153
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5.3.3.1
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Aims and objectives 153
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5.3.3.2
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Scope of the Act 154
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5.3.4
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Enforcement: relevant authorities, powers and discretion 157
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5.3.4.1
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The Competition Council 157
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5.3.4.2
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The Minister of Trade 160
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5.3.5
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Price transparency 160
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5.3.6
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Reflections 161
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5.4
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Libya: a new policy of unlimited competition 163
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5.4.1
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The change 163
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5.4.2
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Unique style of administration 164
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5.4.3
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Liberalisation, privatisation and WTO accession 164
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5.4.4
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A possible competition law for Libya 166
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6
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Jordan’s 2004 Competition Law 168
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6.1
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International outlook and cooperation 169
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6.1.1
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Jordan–EC Association Agreement 170
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6.1.2
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Jordan–EFTA Free Trade Agreement 170
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6.1.3
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Jordan–Israel-US QIZ Agreement 171
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6.2
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The Competition Act 172
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6.2.1
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The failure of the 1990s and the success of 2002 172
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6.2.2
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The aims of the Act 173
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6.2.2.1
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Anti-competitive practices 174
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6.2.2.2
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Abuse of dominance 175
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6.2.2.3
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Economic concentrations 176
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6.2.2.4
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Exemptions 178
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6.2.3
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Price regulation 179
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6.2.4
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Fairness of commercial transactions 180
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6.3
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Institutional structure and the different players 180
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6.3.1
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The Competition Directorate 181
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6.3.2
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The Committee for Competition 182
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6.3.3
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The courts 183
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6.3.4
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The role of the Minister of Industry and Trade 184
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6.4
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Powers and responsibilities 184
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6.4.1
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Investigations 184
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6.4.2
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Penalties 185
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6.4.3
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Competition advocacy 186
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6.4.4
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Assessing the performance of the directorate 187
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6.5
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Market control and supervision 189
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6.6
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Reflections 190
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7
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The Gulf States: a possible model for regional cooperation 193
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7.1
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Measuring the success of the GCC 194
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7.1.1
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Extrinsic factors: the GCC and other regional communities 195
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7.1.2
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Intrinsic factors 196
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7.2
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International cooperation 196
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7.2.1
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Cooperation with the EC 197
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7.2.2
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Cooperation with EFTA States 197
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7.3
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 198
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7.3.1
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Embracing the free-market system 198
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7.3.2
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Regulation of prices 199
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7.3.3
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The Competition Act 2004 199
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7.3.3.1
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Collusion 200
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7.3.3.2
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Abuse of dominance 201
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7.3.3.3
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Mergers 203
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7.3.4
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The Competition Council 204
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7.3.5
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Orders, penalties, appeal and private enforcement 205
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7.3.6
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Facilitating competition in the sectors 206
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7.3.6.1
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The telecommunications sector 206
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7.3.6.2
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The electricity sector 207
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7.4
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Qatar: the Law on Protection of Competition 2006 207
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7.4.1
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Building a competitive environment 207
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7.4.2
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The Law on the Protection of Competition 208
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7.4.2.1
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The context of the Law and legislative intent 209
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7.4.2.2
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Scope of the Law 209
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7.4.3
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Enforcement 211
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7.4.4
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Orders and penalties 212
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7.5
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The Republic of Yemen 212
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7.5.1
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The Competition Law 1999 213
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7.5.1.1
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Scope of the Law 214
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7.5.1.2
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Collusion, abuse of dominance and harmful concentrations 214
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7.5.2
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The Competition Authority 216
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7.5.3
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Penalties 217
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7.5.4
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An added dimension of regulation 217
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7.6
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Gulf States with no specific competition law 218
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7.6.1
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Bahrain 218
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7.6.1.1
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Overview 218
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7.6.1.2
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Mergers 219
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7.6.1.3
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The telecommunications sector 219
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7.6.2
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Kuwait 221
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7.6.2.1
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The Investment Law 221
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7.6.2.2
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The privatisation programme 222
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7.6.2.3
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Competition law and policy developments 223
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7.6.3
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Oman 225
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7.6.3.1
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The privatisation law and programme 225
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7.6.3.2
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Competition law tools 226
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7.6.3.3
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The telecommunications sector 227
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7.6.4
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United Arab Emirates 229
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7.6.4.1
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General 229
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7.6.4.2
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Price regulation 231
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7.6.4.3
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Turning to competition law 232
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7.6.4.4
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Car retail market 232
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7.7
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Reflections 233
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8
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The Arab Republic of Egypt: the chase after globalisation 237
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8.1
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Creating European links 238
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8.2
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Cooperation with the USA: the qualifying industrial zones 239
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8.3
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The competition law dilemma 240
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8.4
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The Law on the Protection of the Freedom of Competition 242
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8.4.1
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The ambitious role of the Act 243
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8.4.2
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The scope of the Act 243
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8.4.3
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Penalties and fines 245
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8.5
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Institutional structure and capacity 246
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8.6
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Competition advocacy and international outlook 248
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8.7
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A mechanism for price regulation 249
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8.8
|
Cement, steel and telecommunications: from state control to liberalisation 250
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8.8.1
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The cement industry: a double-edge sword 250
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8.8.2
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The steel industry: abuse of dominance or freedom of competition 252
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8.8.3
|
The telecommunications sector: the consequences of liberalisation 254
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8.9
|
Deficiencies, criticisms and concerns 255
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8.9.1
|
The prohibition on horizontal and vertical agreements 256
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8.9.2
|
The issue of exemption 256
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8.9.3
|
The treatment of abuse of dominance 257
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8.9.4
|
Lack of adequate mechanism for merger control 258
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8.9.5
|
Fines and settlements 259
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8.9.6
|
The Executive Regulations 259
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|
8.9.7
|
The sectoral application of the Act 259
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8.9.8
|
The frustrating influence of bureaucracy 260
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|
9
|
Lebanon and Syria: a tale of two states 261
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|
|
9.1
|
Lebanon: the walk to the region’s most comprehensive competition law 261
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|
9.1.1
|
International openness and economic growth 261
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9.1.2
|
The drive for privatisation 264
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|
9.1.3
|
The process of emerging competition in Lebanese markets 265
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|
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9.1.3.1
|
Overview 265
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9.1.3.2
|
The challenges 266
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9.1.4
|
Existing legal framework for protecting competition 267
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|
9.1.5
|
A modern competition law for Lebanon 269
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|
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|
9.1.6
|
The scope of the LCA 270
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|
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|
9.1.7
|
Institutional structure 272
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|
9.1.7.1
|
The Competition Council 272
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|
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|
9.1.7.2
|
The rapporteur of competition affairs 273
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|
9.1.8
|
Orders and penalties 274
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|
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|
9.1.9
|
The public dimension of the LCA 274
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|
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|
9.1.10
|
Reflections 275
|
|
|
9.2
|
Syria: resisting international isolation with international openness 278
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|
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|
9.2.1
|
Competition law: paradox, contradictions and conflicts 279
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|
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9.2.2
|
The thesis of the SCL 281
|
|
|
|
9.2.3
|
The scope and goals of the SCL 281
|
|
|
|
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9.2.3.1
|
Collusion 282
|
|
|
|
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9.2.3.2
|
Abuse of dominance 283
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.3.3
|
Merger control 284
|
|
|
|
9.2.4
|
Exemptions 285
|
|
|
|
9.2.5
|
The treatment of pricing policies and practices in special cases 286
|
|
|
|
9.2.6
|
Improper exercise of intellectual property rights 286
|
|
|
|
9.2.7
|
Fairness of commercial transactions 287
|
|
|
|
9.2.8
|
Institutional structure and enforcement 288
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.8.1
|
The Competition Commission 288
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.8.2
|
The Competition Council 289
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.8.3
|
The courts 291
|
|
|
|
9.2.9
|
Penalties, remedies and damages 291
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.9.1
|
Financial sanctions and penalties 291
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.9.2
|
Penalties imposed on natural persons 292
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.9.3
|
Settlements 292
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.9.4
|
Penalties designed for Commission officials 293
|
|
|
|
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9.2.9.5
|
Injunctions 293
|
|
|
|
|
9.2.9.6
|
Damages 293
|
|
|
|
9.2.10
|
Reflections 294
|
|
10
|
Conclusions 297
|
|
|
10.1
|
Competition in Middle Eastern style 298
|
|
|
10.2
|
Recognising the value of competition and competition law 299
|
|
|
10.3
|
Different forms of competition law but the same competition policy 301
|
|
|
10.4
|
MECs without a specific competition law and policy 303
|
|
|
|
10.4.1
|
The Islamic Republic of Iran 303
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.1.1
|
The Constitution 304
|
|
|
|
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10.4.1.2
|
The development plans 305
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.1.3
|
Foreign participation and investment 305
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.1.4
|
The competition law scene 305
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.1.5
|
Unfair competition 307
|
|
|
|
10.4.2
|
Iraq 307
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.2.1
|
The economy and foreign investment 307
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.2.2
|
WTO membership and privatisation 308
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.2.3
|
Competition law and policy 309
|
|
|
|
10.4.3
|
Palestine 311
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.3.1
|
Aspiring to free-market economy 311
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.3.2
|
Foreign investment 311
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.3.3
|
The competition law scene 312
|
|
|
|
10.4.4
|
The Republic of Sudan 313
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.4.1
|
Foreign investment 313
|
|
|
|
|
10.4.4.2
|
Economic and structural reform 314
|
|
|
10.5
|
The chances for sound cooperation 315
|
|
|
|
10.5.1
|
Bilateral cooperation 316
|
|
|
|
10.5.2
|
Regional cooperation: myth or reality? 316
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.1
|
Cooperation through the European Commission 317
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.2
|
Sub-regional cooperation 318
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.3
|
Emerging cooperation within the Arab League 319
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.3.1
|
The prohibitions 320
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.3.2
|
Enforcement and penalties 322
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2.3.3
|
Commentary 323
|
|
|
|
10.5.3
|
Comparison with other regions 325
|
|
|
10.6
|
Competition law: a bridge between civilisations 326
|
|
|
Index 329
|
