Antitrust and the Bounds of Power: The Dilemma of Liberal Democracy in the History of the Market

147 Pages·1997·5.57 MB·English

by  Giuliano Amato

ANTITRUST
AND THE BOUNDS OF POWER

ANTITRUST AND
THE BOUNDS OF
POWER
The dilemma of liberal democracy in
the history of the market
GIULIANO AMATO

•HART-
PUBLISHING
OXFORD
1997
Hart Publishing
Oxford
UK
Distribution in the United States by
Northwestern University Press, 625 Colfax, Evanston,
Illinois, USA
© Giuliano Amato 1997
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data Available
ISBN 1-901362-29-9 (hb)
Typeset in i2pt Bembo
by SetAll, Abingdon
Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper
by Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Table of Cases ix
Table of Legislation xiii
Antitrust: Introduction i
On the surface—the technical profiles I
In the foundations: the dilemma of liberal democracy 2
Part I Technical Profiles: the USA
1. Protection of competition or of freedom of
contract? 7
From the common law to the Sherman Act 7
Early years of the Sherman Act 10
Prohibitions to protect market pluralism increase 14
2. Today's Subtle Weapons 20
The Chicago School 20
Evolution in the Supreme Court 24
Trends in recent cases 27
The present position in summary 33

Part II Technical Profiles: Europe
3. The Heritage of History 39
Europe's industrial culture 39
The Freiburger Ordoliberalen School 40
Early development of antitrust law 41
Antitrust in the European Community 43
vi CONTENTS
4. "Restrictive" Agreements • 46
The normative machinery 46
Vertical agreements 47
Horizontal agreements 54
5. Abuse of a Dominant Position 65
"Special responsibility" 65
Assessment of "dominant position" 67
Abuse as an "objective concept" 69
Individual types of abuse 72
In conclusion 76
6. Prohibitions of Dominant Position 78
Mergers: the ban and its limits 78
Antitrust against public monopolies 88
Part III Antitrust and the Bounds of Power
7. Drawing together the threads 95
Original aims and later evolution 95
In the USA 96
In Europe 98
The limits to antitrust law 100
Facing concentrated, competitive firms 102
Changing markets—what remains? 105

8. The Dilemma of Liberal Democracy 109
The dilemma of liberal democracy within the dilemma
of efficiency 109
Towards autonomy of European antitrust from other
common policies 113
The global market and tomorrow's antitrust 124
Index 130
PREFACE
THIS work arises from a seminar I led on the same topic at
the European University Institute, Florence, and at New
York University, there together with Professor Eleanor
Fox. The text is thus an unwinding of the guiding thread
of that seminar, and the range of cases dealt with (certainly
not the outcome of systematic selection) is what was used
for the seminar, in relation to discussions with the students.
In reviewing American and European antitrust develop-
ment, the more analytic treatment has been given the lat-
ter, as being less well known on either side of the ocean.
I am very grateful to Ian L. Fraser, who has translated the
initial Italian draft and made the text sometimes clearer in
English than it was in Italian.

TABLE OF CASES
A. Ahlstroem Osakeyhitioe and others V. Commission
[1994] 4 C.M.L.R 407, 57
A.B. Volvo v. Erik Veng (U.K.) Ltd. [1989]
4 CMLR 122, 90
Aerospatiale/Alenia/De Havilland, Case No. IV/M.053,
i99i 83
AKZO Chemie BV v. Commission [1993] CMLR 215 ....71
Alcatel/Telettra, Case N0.IV/M.042, 1991 82
Appalachian Coals Inc. v United States 288 US 344,
(1933) H
Asia Motor France & Ors. v. Commission, 1996
ECR II-961 (T387/94) 122
Aspen Skiing Co. v. Aspen Highlands Skiing Corp. 472
US 585 (1985) 69
Berky Photo Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co. 444 US 1093
(1980) 73, 112-13
BPB Industries Ltd. & British Gypsum Ltd. v.
Commission [1993] CMLR 32, 70
British Leyland Ltd. v. Commission [1986] ECR 3263, 75
Brooke Group Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson
Tobacco Co. 113 S. Ct. 2578 (1993) 71
Brown Shoe Co. v. United States 370 US 294 (1962).... 18

Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics Corp. 485
US 7171 (1988) 27, 28, 30
Chicago Board of Trade v. United States 246 US 238
(1917) I2
Consten and Grundig v. Commission [1996]
CMLR 418 48-51, 121
x TABLE OF CASES
Continental Can v. Commission [1973]
CMLR 199 78-9
Continental TV Inc. v. GTE Sylvania Inc. 433 US 36
(1997) 26,47, 5i
Dyestuffs v. Commission [1972] CMLR 557 54—5
Eastman Kodak Co. v Image Technical Services Inc. 112
S Ct 2072 (1992) 28-30
Eni/Montedison, Case IV.31.055, in OJ L5/13,
1987 64
FTC v. Brown Shoe Co. 384 US 316 (1966) 18
FTC v. Proctor and Gamble 386 US 568 (1967) 19
General Motors Continental v. Commission [1976]
1 CMLR 95 75
Hoffman-La Roche v. Commission [1979]
CMLR 211 70—1, 121
Istituto Chemioterapico Italiano and Commercial
Solvents v. Commission [1974] CMLR 309 73
John Deere Lrd v. Commission [1994] ECR II-957 55

Kali und Salz/MDK/Treuhand N. IV/M.308, 1993 85
Klaus Hofner & Fritz Elsen v. Macroton GmbH [1991]
4 CMLR 306 89
Mannesmann Hoesch, Case No. IV/M. 222, 1992 82
Mannesmann/Vallomer/Illva, Case No. IV/M. 315,
1994 82
Matro Hachette v. Commission [1994] ECR II-595 59
MCI Communication Corp. v. AT&T Co. 708 F. 2d
1081 (1983) 72