Ariel Ezrachi Discusses the Advanced Programme on Competition Law and the Digital Economy in Quad interview
Ariel Ezrachi was recently interviewed for Oxford University's alumni magazine 'Quad' about the new Advanced Programme on Competition Law in the Digital Economy which is being hosted by the Centre for Competition Law and Policy.
‘This is a complex era we are now in, and the intention of this three-day gathering is to make sense of it,’ says Ariel Ezrachi, Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford.
Convening an exclusive group of up to 40 participants on 23-25 June, at Pembroke College, the course will include solicitors and barristers, in-house counsel, consultants, industry experts, directors and enforcers. ‘All will share an interest in the law, economics and policy governing competition in digital markets.’
He explains that the format is deliberately iterative, and partly informal, with a hybrid of lectures and round table discussions. So, for example, when exploring the new regulatory regimes in Europe and the UK, participants will benefit from two complementary sessions. First, a presentation with insights from practice, academia, and enforcement (including by EU Commission’s Filomena Chirico, from DG Connect). Subsequently, a lively round table discussion will bring additional perspectives, including from senior representatives from Microsoft and Google.
Offering a schematic framework of the legal and policy context, he says: ‘At the core of competition enforcement we have always had the perennial free markets vs. government intervention face-off, which affects the intensity of antitrust enforcement and regulation. In recent times, wider industrial policy considerations, which set to encourage growth and innovation, have also taken centre stage, and influence enforcement intensity. Further complexity has been added by political shifts on the global stage, that may impact the trajectory of competition enforcement in digital markets.’
‘Within this context, we are razor focused on offering participants a clear understanding of the law and policy, current enforcement trends, and likely developments. We’re offering an opportunity to better understand this rapidly changing world. Knowledge is needed to negotiate this complex era that we are now in, to identify legal and business risks and opportunities.’
The course will take place in Pembroke College, principally in the beautiful Harold Lee conference room with its view of the medieval city wall and gardens, with meals in the main dining hall. Meanwhile, situated just two hundred metres from Carfax, the centre point of Oxford, there is scope within the agenda to explore the city.