UCL FACULTY OF LAWS
Global Competition Law and Economics Series

A Global Competition Law and Economics Series Conference:
Competition Law and the State
18 & 19 March 2011, Hong Kong

Conference Schedule

Friday 18 March 2011
08:30 Registration
09.00 Welcome and Introduction
Professor Dame Hazel Genn DBE QC (Dean, UCL Faculty of Laws) &
Professor Johannes Chan (Dean, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law)
Dr Ioannis Lianos (UCL, Co-Director, Global Competition Law and Economics Series)
Professor Daniel Sokol (University of Florida, Co-Director, Global Competition Law and Economics Series)
09:15 Official Address:
Mr Gregory So (Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)
09:30 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Government in Markets

Keynote Speaker:
John Fingleton (Chairman, UK Office of Fair Trading)

Chair:
Judge Frederic Jenny (Cour de Cassation and Chairman, OECD Competition Committee)

Respondents:

  • Allan Fels (Dean, Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG))
  • William Kovacic (Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission)
  • Eduardo Pérez Motta (President, Federal Competition Committee, Mexico)

Followed by discussion
10:45 COFFEE BREAK
11:00 SESSION 1:
Controlling anticompetitive action by the State: ex ante approaches (competition advocacy, competitive neutrality, competition law assessment of projected legislation)

Chair: William Kovacic (Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission)
Panelists:
  • Joseph P Bauer (Professor of Law, The University of Notre Dame Law School)
  • Michiyo Hamada (Commissioner, Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC))
  • Gert-Jan.Koopman (Deputy Director General (State Aids) European Commission - OECD)
  • Simon Milnes (Infrastructure, Competition and Consumer Division, the Australian Treasury)
  • Eduardo Pérez Motta (President, Federal Competition Committee, Mexico)
13:00 The Baker & McKenzie Speakers' Lunch
Light Lunch for other attendees
14:00 SESSION 2:
Competition law and state regulation: Setting the stage and focus on state-owned companies

Chair: Gert-Jan.Koopman (Deputy Director General (State Aids) European Commission - OECD)
Panelists:
  • Gregory Leonard (Senior Vice-President, NERA)
  • Yena Lim Hua Yen (Chief executive, Competition Commission of Singapore)
  • Tony Prosser (Professor of Law, University of Bristol, Law School)
  • Huang Yong (Professor of Law, University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) School of Law, Beijing)
  • Georgina Foster (Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP (Sydney))
15:45 COFFEE BREAK
16:00

SESSION 3:
Controlling anticompetitive action by the State: ex post approaches (state aids, state action doctrine, state sponsored cartels and anticompetitive practices)

Chair: Dhanendra Kumar (Chairman, Competition Commission of India)
Panelists:

  • Thomas Cheng (Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law)
  • Michal Gal (Professor of Law, University of Haifa)
  • Damien Geradin (University of Tilburg & Covington & Burling LLP)
  • Gavin Robert (Partner, Linklaters LLP)
  • Willard Tom (General Counsel, US Federal Trade Commission)
17:30 COFFEE BREAK
17:45

SESSION 4: Authorities Roundtable
Exemptions from the application of competition law / the challenge of applying competition law to foreign state activities: comparative and international perspectives

Chair: Allan Fels (Dean, Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG))
Panelists:

  • Gert-Jan.Koopman (Deputy Director General (State Aids) European Commission - OECD)
  • Dhanedra Kumar (Chairman, Competition Commission of India)
  • Jianhui Yang (Anti-Monopoly Bureau, MOFCOM)
  • Yena Lim Hua Yen, (Chief Executive, Competition Commission of Singapore)
19:30 Close of Day one

Saturday 19 March - Competition law and the challenge of the evolving definition and structure of State activities
09:30 Registration and refreshments
10:00 SESSION 5:
Competition law and private regulation: Self-regulation by professional associations, regulation by trade associations or voluntary agreements promoting public interest

Chair: Eduardo Pérez Motta (President, Federal Competition Committee, Mexico)
Panelists:
  • Assimakis Komninos (Commissioner, Hellenic Competition Commission)
  • Ioannis Lianos (UCL Faculty of Laws)
  • Paul Lugard (TBC) (former Head of Antitrust, Philips; Vice-Chair, Competition Commission BIAC; Lecturer Tilburg University)
  • D. Daniel Sokol, (Professor of Law, Levin College of Law, University of Florida)
  • Mark Williams (Professor of Law, The Hong Kong Polytechnic)
  • Shiying Xu (Institute of Competition Law, East China University of Political Science and Law)
11:30 Coffee Break
11:45 SESSION 6
The interaction between competition law and regulatory alternatives (networks: broadcasting, digital media, infrastructure / energy)

Chair: Gert-Jan Koopman (Deputy Director General (State Aids), European Commission)
Panelists:
  • Nick Economides (Professor of Economics, Stern Business School, NYU)
  • Geoff Edwards (Vice-President, Charles River Associates)
  • Leigh Hancher (University of Tilburg & Allen & Overy LLP)
  • Clara Ingen-Housz (Partner, Baker & McKenzie LLP (Hong Kong))
  • Franz Jürgen Säcker (Professor of Law, Freien Universität Berlin)
13:20 LUNCH
14:30 SESSION 7:
The interaction between competition law and regulatory alternatives II
(credence goods: healthcare and financial services)

Chair: Willard Tom (General Counsel, US Federal Trade Commission)
Panelists:
  • Alberto Heimler (Professor of Economics, Advanced School of Public Administration, Government of the Italian Republic)
  • Ioannis Kokkoris (University of Reading Law School)
  • William Kovacic (Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission)
  • David Stallibrass (Director, Markets and Projects: Services, UK Office of Fair Trading)
16:15 Break
16:30

DISCUSSION:
Extensions - The evolving role of the State and the impact of competition law in a globalized world: institutional solutions for dealing with tragic choices

Chair:
Emeritus Professor Valentine Korah (UCL Faculty of Laws)

Moderator:
Judge Frederic Jenny (Cour de Cassation and Chairman, OECD Competition Committee)

Open discussion to the floor
17:30 Concluding remarks:
Thomas Cheng (HKU), Ioannis Lianos (UCL) & Daniel Sokol (Florida)
17:45 End of conference