ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview – and a comparison – of the two most significant regimes worldwide, that is, the European Union (EU) competition law and the United States antitrust law regimes. The field of competition law has become incredibly vast and topical, as it has received significant attention. Competition and antitrust laws can be used interchangeably to refer to the complex of rules implemented to regulate undertakings and commercial entities’ behaviour with no relevant implications. The roots of competition law can be found in the common law system. EU competition law is also concerned with preventing the occurrence of competition distortion as a result of financial aid conferred by non-EU States to their national airlines. United States antitrust law finds its roots in the English common law tort of unfair competition, and, particularly, as a regulatory response to trusts companies emerged in the late 1880s.
