What Comparative Law Methodology for Competition Law Research? On the Quest for a Sound Approach

Competition law research is frequently done cross-jurisdictionally, either focusing on one main jurisdiction and referencing solutions found in others, or explicitly comparing antitrust legal issues in two or more jurisdictions. Although the existence of a discipline of comparative competition law is generally acknowledged, many competition law research projects only implicitly rather than explicitly address questions of method and methodology. In my ongoing comparative research project on antitrust market definition in innovative market environments, I have chosen to bring my methodical and methodological choices to the forefront. In this lunchtime talk, I will discuss the two different comparative law methods that I am relying on in my project – a comparison of concepts to uncover the various functions of market definition under EU competition and US antitrust law, and a dialectic comparison to understand how EU competition and US antitrust law delineate antitrust markets in the presence of innovation. This will then allow us to consider the wider issue of how to develop a sound comparative approach for competition law research more generally. At the same time, I will highlight some of the potential pitfalls of engaging in comparative competition law research, and in which ways a properly defined methodology may help in avoiding these.

A sandwich lunch will be available from 12.30.