ABSTRACT
First, public authority intervention has traditionally been the dominant mode of competition law enforcement. However, although competition law has generally been enforced administratively by national or European Community regulatory authorities intervening in markets, there has been a more recent development, particularly at the European Community level,1 toward private enforcement of competition laws through regular court processes.2 Nonetheless, it is difficult to equate competition law with other areas of law, such as the law of contract or delict/tort, which rely almost exclusively on adjudication by normal court processes. Administrative enforcement of competition law is currently still the norm, although we have to be aware of developments in private enforcement of competition law ‘rights’ in the courts, particularly in light of current Community moves toward ‘modernisation’ and recent reforms under UK competition law.
