Practising competition law in a changing environment

Business is going global as never before but international transactions are still subject to a patchwork of national or regional rules and will remain so in the future. The launch of the International Competition Network (ICN) in October 2001 is widely recognized as a major step in promoting convergence among competition laws and procedures. ICN is a virtual network of over 60 competition authorities with a project-driven agenda to make antitrust enforcement more efficient and effective. ICN actively seeks the advice of the private sector, including competition practitioners, in formulating best practice recommendations. Cooperation among competition authorities today is already a reality, between some of the leading antitrust authorities in the world, especially in the field of merger control.