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Competition Law and Market Study

Competition Law and Market Study

The dynamics of markets underpin the decisions of each stakeholder in an economy. The legal system of the day is gripped with challenges with restrictive trade practices and other anti-competitive issues, corporate governance issues on a rise. There are concerns of all stakeholders associated with the sector which the Centre for Competition Law aims to address.

The proposal to set up a Centre for Competition Law, Institute of Law seeks to provide a venue for scholars and practitioners to exchange views on competition law and policy. The same is to be achieved through its Conferences, Workshops, Discussion Forums; and its Online Papers and Database. The Centre for Competition Law shall host Antitrust Symposium collaborating with eminent scholars and legal practitioners of Antitrust Enforcement. The Centre also envisions being the home to a ‘Lecture Series’ where leading practitioners and academics discuss recent issues of competition law and policy. The Centre is aimed at encouraging research and publications in the area of competition law. The Centre is focused on providing a platform to research students whose research papers would constitute a significant contribution to the field.

The Competition Law Centre aims to contribute in this field through research, intellectual deliberations, practical implications concerning legal aspects, corporate governance, and economics of antitrust. The Centre would serve as a venue for research students to meet and exchange views on their research projects through the Curiosity Discussion Group (CDG). Each meeting is to include a short presentation on upto two research assignments/projects, and an informal group discussion.

The Centre shall strive to assimilate, consolidate and explore the multi-disciplinary nature of Competition law, including, the economics involved therein and its intersection with corporate governance.

The Centre shall operate to pursue its vision of expounding the theories to ensure the effective advanced future prospects in the field of Competition Law.

Keeping pace with the developing regime of antitrust enforcement and to encourage an extensive, multi-dimensional research along with expanding the horizon of the corporate governance and competition law through a multifaceted approach, the Centre would have three verticals under the heads –

  • Competition Law Enforcement
  • Corporate Governance and Antitrust
  • Economics of Antitrust.

The centre shall strive to:

  • To promote research and study of Economics of Antitrust, Corporate governance and Competition law, including a study of global perspective and practice in various jurisdictions.
  • The Centre’s objective is to guide students towards policy-oriented study and research of issues impacting corporate regulation, governance and competition law in the context of emerging national and international trends, and opportunities.
  • The Centre aims to conduct academic oriented programs related to the corporate & competition laws. Also, provide legal infrastructure to the corporate sector and cater to training requirements of the Industry.
  • To provide a forum that brings together economists, academicians’ practitioners and regulators.
  • To provide a platform for students to interact with experts in the field of competition law and to grab the opportunities in this developing field of law.
  • To analyze critically, the trends and developments in the institutional, legal and regulatory framework for competition law in India and foreign jurisdictions.

We propose to carry on the following activities under the Centre:

  • Carry out research projects to have a deeper understanding of the Subject Matter among the students.
  • Organize special expert lectures /conferences/ forums/ panel discussions and any other similar activities, to discuss competition law and its intersection with other areas of law
  • Review the existing legislation/ rules/ regulations in the country and understand the different interpretations of such law in different jurisdictions.
  • To launch a journal for competition law inviting articles/essays/research papers from scholars and students.

The Centre will organize short term workshops on various issues of the Subject Matter at basic as well as advanced level for students, researchers, members of academics, and other interested stakeholders.

The centre also aims to conduct short term certificate courses at the campus, facilitated by scholars and experts on competition law and corporate governance around the industry.

Apart from the above mentioned short term workshops, in order to create and promote an atmosphere of learning among students, discussion groups would also be conducted on a periodic basis in and outside the college.

Name Designation
Ms Nikita Koradia Head
Yaatri Shah Chairperson
Kashish Siddiqui Khan Secretary
Priyal Jain Convener, Conference
Devarshi Trivedi Core Member
Kartik Nagpal Core Member
Vansh Ved Core Member
Amika Choudhry Core Member
Prashant Dubey Core Member
Shubhangi Sharma Core Member
Nilay Mishra Core Member
Geethika P M Member
Avantika Paul Member
Ayush Singh Member
Parth Mangal Member
Aayushi Bhargava Member
Vithi Khandelwal Member
Aditya Taneja Member
Siddham Mehta Member
Sayansh Saxena Member
Vedant Agrawal Member
Shubh Thakur Member
Mimansa Arya Member

Policy Assessment under CCI

Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices)-

We evaluated the possible competition issues involved in the said policy and suggested the amendment to be made thereof. There are various regulatory measures involved in the policy that tends to give certain market power to the enterprises and thereby increases the possibility of competition concerns. One of the issues involved in the policy is the high entry barriers imposed by the government to be able to get the authorization like the company shall invest or propose to invest Rs.2000 crore. This capital requirement is very high, thus, acts as a barrier to entry. Further, the application fee that is required to be submitted is very high acting again as a barrier to entry for the enterprises. We suggested to reduce the amount of capital required and the application fees to ensure fair opportunities to enterprise.

Schedule II requires disclosure of certain details which includes the details about the supply quantity which, in effect, might decrease the enforcement cost thereby, assist in a cartel if any. Thus, disclosure of supply must be omitted. There are certain other issues with involved with regards to certain definitions as well. This work helped us to learn the toolkit that CCI uses for policy assessment.

Webinar on “Digital Platforms and Priorities in antitrust enforcement”

On 25th June, 2020, CCLMS organised a webinar on “Digital Platforms and Priorities in antitrust enforcement”, a contemporary issue. The webinar involved a discourse from the perspectives of US, EU and the Indian Jurisprudence Mr. Salil Mehra laid the foundation for the discourse. He discussed the various harmful aspects of algorithms cannot be handled by traditional antitrust tools, making it difficult to take cognizance. Dr. Geeta Gouri explained elaborately the difference between digital markets and digital platforms along with the different issues arising due to such difference, whilst highlighting the Indian Jurisprudence as well. Mr. Baskaran Balasingham reflected upon data in Australian and German jurisprudence. Lastly, Mr. Vikram Sobti dealt with the burning topic of Big-data as a factor of dominance in the Indian context. Ms. Nikita Koradia was the moderator for the session.

Panel Webinar on “Deal -Value Merger thresholds: Is It The Way Forward?”

Centre of Competition Law and Market Study (CCLMS), Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad in collaboration with CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition (CIRC), India in a knowledge building capacity organized a Panel Webinar on the theme – “Deal -Value Merger thresholds: Is It The Way Forward?” on June 16, 2020. The keynote panelists for the webinar were Mr. Bharat Budholia Partner (Competition Law/Antitrust at AZB & Partners, Mumbai), Ms. DeekshaManchanda (Managing Associate – Competition Law at Chandhiok& Mahajan, Advocates and Solicitors, Delhi) and Mr. AnshumanSakle (Partner – Competition Law at Cyril AmarchandMangaldas, Mumbai). The event witnessed an overwhelming participation of people from legal fraternity, including practitioners, students as well as academicians.

Students’ Lecture Series

Centre for Competition Law and Market Study (CCLMS) successfully conducted a ‘Student lecture series’ on Competition Law. Our Advisors Ojasvi Mishra & Sneha Sharma being competition law enthusiasts, always look for avenues to address new questions and problems in the field of Competition Law. Acknowledging the need for constant learning and compensate for the loss of physical classes, CCLMS conducted the mentioned ‘Students’ lecture series’. The Lecture Series was an attempt to introduce students to the basic concepts of Competition law and give them insights into various legal dimensions and a platform to understand various facets and contemporary legal issues. The series witnessed an overwhelming participation of students and active engagement among enthusiasts, intended at taking a head start in the said field.

Expert Lecture by Mr. Bharat Budholia on – Regulation of Combinations

Centre for Competition Law and Market Study organized an expert lecture by Mr. Bharat Budholia on Regulation of Combinations under the Competition Act, 2002, to make research aspirants and curious students of Law conversant with the developments in the field of Competition Law and Antitrust related to mergers and combinations.

Competition Law Discourse

A dialogue from the students and some expert Alumni of Institute of Law, Nirma University, who will be providing us with major insights in the field of Competition Law with respect to the basics, the contemporary issues and developments across multiple jurisdictions, prospective changes in the current regime, section specific studies and more. The series is ongoing and is receiving overwhelming participation of students and active engagement among enthusiasts.

Symposium on the theme – Big Data and Abuse of Dominance

To embark its exploration drive and mark the inauguration of CCLMS; we organized the 1st Symposium on the theme – Big Data and Abuse of Dominance on 13th October, 2019 and the keynote speakers of the event were Mr. Saurabh Mishra, Deputy Director (Economics), Competition Commission of India, Ms. Khyati Dhuparr (Managing Partner, Dhuparr and Associates, New Delhi, Mr. Bharat Bhudoliya, Former Partner, Competition Law, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Mumbai and Mr. Somasekhar Sundersan Independent Legal Counsel. The panellists possessed rich experience in the field of Competition Law and academic insight.

Centre for Competition Law and Market Study (CCLM)
Ms. Nikita Koradia, Faculty Advisor
Institute of Law, Nirma University
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway,
Post : Chandlodia, Via : Gota,
Ahmedabad – 382 481.
Gujarat, India. Landline: 079-71652829
Email: cclms@nirmauni.ac.in

Advisor:
Ojasvi Mishra (16bal035@nirmauni.ac.in)
Juhi Hirani (16bbl022@nirmauni.ac.in)
Sneha Sharma (16bal049@nirmauni.ac.in)

Name Designation
Juhi Hirani Associate as Touchstone Partners
Ojasvi Mishra Associate at LKS
Parth Tiwari
pursuing UPSE
Anusha Shekhawat
Associate Wadia Gandhy & Co