The Centre for Law, Economics and Society (CLES) has co-organised the second BRICS Competition Law and Policy forum, with the Skolkovo Institute on Law and Development at Higher School of Economics and the University of Cape Town on 14 November 2015. The forum focused on the recently-launched CLES research project, ‘The Global Food Value Chain: Competition Law and Policy at Crossroads’.
In particular, the workshop examined the challenges that the regulation of food value chains raises for policy makers in BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). This forms part of the Centre’s engagement with BRICS jurisdictions culminating with the proposal to launch a BRICS Joint Research Centre and public-academic projects on economically and socially sensitive markets, such as the food market.
These proposals were presented and endorsed at a BRICS heads of competition authorities' meeting in Moscow on 23 September 2015.
Professor Ioannis Lianos was also invited to contribute as a speaker at the Annual BRICS Competition Law Conference, held at Durban, South Africa on 12 November 2015. Professor Lianos is working closely with BRICS academic institutions and competition authorities with the aim to make the BRICS Joint Research Centre operational in 2016, to constitute the first global public-academic platform of BRICS countries but also other emergent economies.