AN APPROACH TO THE CONTEMPORARY TREATMENT OF VERTICAL INTEGRATION CASES IN ANTITRUST LAW FROM A LAW & ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE: RECENT EXPERIENCES IN THE U.S. AND E.U.

Gönenç GÜRKAYNAK

The principles developed in the field of law & economics now play a significant part in analyzing antitrust law matters, and their impact has consistently grown over the past couple of decades. Any enforcement or regulation effort in the field of antitrust law concerning vertical mergers or vertical restraints makes economic sense only if the law & economics of vertical integration is given the due credit. Therefore, vertical integration issues require extensive and diligent use of the principles of law & economics.

This paper deals with the law & economics of vertical integration matters by making use of two recent and significant precedents under U.S. and E.U. antitrust law regimes, while also attempting to explore the connection between the prime objective of antitrust law and the proper handling of vertical integration matters. To that end, we also present our views on the delicacies of shaping the main features of legal rules applicable to vertical integration matters.