Book review: 'Irish competition law: the competition act, 2002' (Lexis nexis butterworths)

• Author: Anna-Louise Hinds
• Position: Junior Lecturer in Commercial Law National University of Ireland, Galway
• Pages: 246-251

BOOK REVIEW:

“IRISH COMPETITION LAW: THE

COMPETITION ACT, 2002”

(LEXIS NEXIS BUTTERWORTHS)

Anna-Louise Hinds

Junior Lecturer in Commercial Law

National University of Ireland, Galway

In this new book, Irish Competition Law: The Competition Act,

2002,the authors examine the impact of the Competition Act, 2002

on the competition regime in force in Ireland. They carry out a

detailed analysis of this legislation, focusing on the changes that it

introduces to both the substantive and procedural aspects of

competition enforcement in this jurisdiction. One of the major

strengths of the book is that the authors incorporate an examination

of European competition law throughout the text and dedicate a

chapter to this particular topic, concentrating on Regulation 1/2003,

which came into force on 1 May 2004 and changes the enforcement

regime of European competition law. The overall result of this text

is a very comprehensive and practical commentary on Irish and

indeed European competition law – a text that will prove very

valuable to practitioners and students. While a standalone text in its

own right, offering an up-to-date account of the modernisation of

Irish competition law in particular and European competition law,

this book is also very much the sister text to Power’s text on

Competition Law and Practice and references aremade to the main

text for further information throughout the text.

The Competition Act, 2002 is now the keystone of Irish

competition law as it replaces the Competition Act 1991, the

Competition Amendment Act 1996 and the Mergers and Takeovers

(Control) Act 1978. Some provisions of the Restrictive Practices

(Amendment) Act, 1987 are repealed (sections 24-26). The

Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, 1987 remains in place. In

spite of this, for the first time in the history of Irish competition law,

there is an umbrella, all-encompassing piece of legislation to deal

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