6. Who enforces the law?

Abstract

‘Who enforces the law?’ identifies who enforces competition and antitrust laws. In most countries, competition and antitrust laws can be utilized by the public enforcer (the competition agency) that is tasked with maintaining a competitive environment, or by private entities that use the competition provisions to protect their commercial interests, or to claim damages for loss caused by violation of competition law. In the US, at the federal level, two agencies share responsibility for competition enforcement. These are the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition (FTC) and The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Meanwhile, EU law grants the European Commission primary responsibility for enforcing EU competition laws.