Page 9 - Bulletin No. 14 - Free Competition

XVI Global Forum on Competition related to the competition, interactions between judges and
competition. BOLETÍN PANAMÁ

Overcome adversity and achieve success: Focus on small de Libre Competencia
agencies and those in developing economies.
Each competition agency must overcome obstacles to
enforce its competition law. For small and developing
jurisdictions, these obstacles are often more acute,
numerous and reinforced by the specific challenges of
these jurisdictions. In June 2017, the OECD distributed a
survey among members of the Global Forum, to discover
what are the most difficult challenges facing competition
agencies and how they managed to overcome them.
The three most salient challenges (promotion, compliance
ACODECO participated in the XVI Annual Global Forum on and how can competition authorities overcome hostility or
Competition of the Organization for Economic Cooperation indifference?) The session was discussed during three
and Development (OECD) held in Paris, France on parallel sessions, in which representatives from different
December 7 and 8, 2017. The sessions discussed on the agencies presented case studies for their challenges and
forum where: success stories. The ACODECO delegation participated in

Is Competition and Democracy Symbiotic? the topic: Advocacy efforts within the government and
During the session, a panel of experts from different areas creating a competition culture in the public.
discussed whether competition can be included among the Competition in the Public Markets
success factors of democratic government, particularly The objective of the session was to open discussion topics
when considering countries in transition to democratic on the role of: the election and competition in public
government systems. Are there links between democracy, markets, and the application of competition law in those
the degree to which a country is democratic and the markets.
prevalence of competition through the economy? As the
application of competition evolves, does this change the Public markets, such as health, education and the
nature to which democracy may or may not support? How provision of various public services, constitute a large part
can the application of competition be a vector for of the economy, and the quality and efficiency of the
democracy? Is it possible that the liberalization of the services they provide are fundamental to a country's ability
market and competition can prosper in the absence of to achieve inclusive growth. However, these markets
democracy? attract relatively little attention from competition authorities
in many countries.
Judicial Perspectives on the Competition Law.
Competition cases are often characterized by complex It has been shown that competition in these markets helps
litigation and different sets of economic tests. improve quality and efficiency. As a result, competition
While recognizing the differences between jurisdictions, agencies may have opportunities to advocate for a broader
the session addressed the main common challenges faced role of competition in these markets, providing advice on
by judges in applying the competition law, and finding ways the design and regulation of markets that do exist.
to meet those challenges. Since the hearing was
comprised of judges and representatives of competition
agencies from around the world, the session provided a
venue for an exchange of views on the interaction between
competition agencies and courts, exploring topics such as,
standard of proof and the evidence in judicial procedures

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