COMPAD LLP Is Hosting International Webinar - "Competition Law Townhall"

COMPAD LLP, in association with Competition Commission of India and PHD Chamber of Commerce is hosting an international webinar titled as ‘Competition Law Townhall’. The webinar will host competition lawyers, academicians, industry and legal professionals. The topic of the discussion is “EU Competition Law and Digital Platforms: Experiences of EU on the Digital Markets Act”. The date and time of the Webinar is 13th September 2023, 4 PM IST (11:30 AM BST). The distinguished speakers include:

Prof. Richard Whish, Professor (Emeritus), King's College London (Keynote Speaker) 

Mrs. Ravneet Kaur IAS, Chairperson, Competition Commission of India (Chief Guest)                       

Mr. Dhanendra Kumar IAS (Retd.), First Chair, CCI and Chairman, Competition Advisory Services (India) LLP                                                                             

BW Legal World – Media Partner                                                                                               

Established in 2019, BW Legal World is a sister community of BW Businessworld. The latter is a widely respected fortnightly magazine with an impressive readership of 7.8 lakh niche business readers per issue. With over 43 years of experience in the industry and a prominent presence across India, BW Businessworld is renowned for its independent, insightful content crafted by a proficient team of professionals.                  

BW Legal World was conceived with the purpose of bridging the gap between the realms of Business and Law on a global scale. The platform facilitates engaging discussions among business leaders and legal luminaries from various sectors of the legal fraternity, including Law Firms, In- House Departments, Jurists, Independent Practitioners, Writers & Researchers, Law Institutes, and Legal Tech Innovators.                                                                     

Agenda                

Competition law and its interface with digital markets is a long-debated issue. Regulators round the globe have framed legislations on digital markets to regulate the ‘gatekeepers’ and to maintain ‘fairness’ and ‘level playing field’ in the market.                      

European Union, enacted Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, commonly known as Digital Markets Act (DMA). It was proposed by European Commisssion in December 2020 and was signed into law by European Parliament and Council of the EU in September 2022. It entered into force on 1 November 2022 and became applicable, for the most provisions, on 2 May 2023.                       

The DMA intends to ensure a higher degree of competition in European digital markets by preventing large companies from abusing their market power and by allowing new players to enter the market. Once implemented, it will establish a list of obligations for designated ‘gatekeepers’ and in case of non-compliance, there will be enforced sanctions mechanisms, including fines of up to 10% of the worldwide turnover.                   

In India, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance recommended in December 2022 its 53rd Report there is a need for a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. In February 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) formed a committee on digital competition law (CDCL) to evaluate the proposal for a digital competition law in India and recommend a draft Digital Competition Bill. The draft is being prepared and discussions are ongoing.                                                                                                    

About Distinguished Guests                      

Prof. Richard Whish is Emeritus Professor of Law at King’s College London; in 2014 he was appointed KC Honoris Causa. He was a non-executive director of the Office of Fair Trading in the UK from 2003 to 2009, and a non-executive director of the Singaporean Energy Markets Authority from 2005 to 2011. He is the co-author, with David Bailey, of Competition Law (OUP) and the author of many other books, articles, case-notes and book reviews on various aspects of international competition law and policy.                       

Mrs. Ravneet Kaur IAS is the Chairperson of Competition Commission of India. She is a 1988- batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Punjab cadre. She has over three decades of experience in various administrative and financial roles in the central and state governments, Prior to her appointment as the Chairperson of the CCI, she served as the Chairperson and Managing Director of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) from 2017 to 2019.                      

Mr. Dhanendra Kumar IAS (retd.) is the First Chairman (2009-11), Competition Commission of India. He is currently Chairman, Competition Advisory Services (India) LLP. Previously, he held the position of Executive Director for India at World Bank and Secretary to Government of India in various executive roles, including ministries like Defence, Culture and Telecom. He was instrumental in establishing the Commission and oversaw its functioning from the set-up stage. He was responsible for competition advocacy with stakeholders and laid the framework for enforcement of Competition Act, 2002. He’s also known to be the founder of merger control regime in India. He launched the M&A regime in CCI in 2011 and framed regulations. After his superannuation, he chaired an expert committee of Ministry of Corporate Affairs to draft National Competition Policy. He is also a Distinguished Fellow of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. He is the Chairperson of the Competition and Consumer Law Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce.

Participation                   

The event will be held in virtual mode. It is open to all, including competition lawyers, advocates, academicians and law students. The registration form is provided below:

https://forms.gle/GZgDSsTd3VcW6ASN9

For nomination and participation queries, please email to Mr. Aditya Trivedi, Associate, COMPAD at aditya@compad.in