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A liner conference, as a self-regulation organisational form of liner shipping companies, constitutes a typical "hard-core cartel" with significant anti-competitive effect. One of the main three trade routes of liner shipping traffic is the Europe-Asia Trade, on the two ends of which both the European Community (EC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) play important roles in the international liner shipping market. However, the competition regimes on liner conferences in both jurisdictions are not equivalent. From a comparative point of view, this book reviews the historical development of maritime policy and regulatory legislation in the EC and the PRC, catches insight into the system of regulation regime and individual provisions in substantive and procedural meaning, and finally provides a wide-ranging perspective on the future competition regulation in respect of the latest developments in both jurisdictions.
As of October 2008, liner shipping companies lose their privileged status under EU competition law due to withdrawal of the liner conference block exemption, which generously authorized horizontal price-fixing and similar agreements between liner shipping companies. Where the liner consortia block exemption does not apply, all cooperative activity should be carefully and individually assessed under the competition provisions of the EC Treaty. Alla Pozdnakova has taken this opportunity to research and write an in-depth study of competition law problems in the liner shipping context. Her analysis is not only the first to examine the new European regime, and thus the most up-to-date study of the subject; it is in fact the first major independent study of how Articles 81 and 82 EC are construed and applied to the market conduct of liner shipping companies. In particular, the author addresses the following legal questions: * Does cooperation between liner shipping companies infringe Article 81(1) even if it does not entail hard-core restrictions of competition? * Can a cooperative arrangement between liner shipping companies claim that the efficiencies they produce outweigh the negative impact on competition (Article 81(3))? * When do certain market strategies of liner carriers become an abuse of a collective or individual dominant position (Article 82)? * Does parallel pricing behaviour infringe EC Treaty competition rules? Systematically, the author considers various market strategies of liner shipping companies and tests them as to their compatibility with EC Treaty competition provisions. In doing so, she thoroughly analyses European Commission decisions and judgments of the European courts, applying them authoritatively to the liner shipping sector. In this way, her book provides a well-structured account that clearly identifies the legal issues that liner shipping companies are likely to face once the special treatment traditionally allowed them is withdrawn. A summary of current and prospective developments in EU competition regulation and policy in liner shipping rounds up the analysis. Liner Shipping and EU Competition Law will be a unique and powerful resource for practitioners and policymakers as liner shipping companies restructure their agreements and market strategies to accommodate loss of the block exemption. It is also sure to become a definitive analysis of the legal identity of the liner shipping market sector under European competition law.
The book provides an introduction to shipping in all its aspects. It is a valuable source of information for students of traditional maritime law as well as for those who seek to understand maritime and shipping services on a global scale. The text includes information and analytical content on national and international practices in shipping, including the age-old dichotomy between freedom in international shipping and the persistent demands of states to control specific maritime areas, as well as the tension between, on the one hand, the desire on the part of sovereign states to regulate and protect their shipping interests and, on the other, the abiding concern and unquestioned right of the international community to regulate the global shipping industry effectively, in order to ensure maritime safety, protection of the environment and fair competition.
Liner conferences are among the oldest surviving cartels in the world. Created in the 1870s they have existed since on all the world's shipping routes. With the approval or tacit acquiescence of governments everywhere, they fix freight rates, control capacity and share markets. The United Nations Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences (1974) granted them global recognition and prompted the European Community to recommend Member States to join the Convention on the Liner Code (1979) and to grant them the most generous and extraordinary block exemption from EC antitrust rules ever (1986). The European Commission's administration of the block exemption has clarified some of its aspects and, to a certain extent, limited its scope; but until very recently, it has not questioned the appropriateness of the exceptionally lenient treatment of liner shipping cartels in the European Union. After a report by the OECD Secretariat (2002) recommending abolition of antitrust immunity for shipping cartels in member countries, the European Commission launched a review of the block exemption (2003) which has led to its repeal (2006). This book studies first the origins, the early history and the regulation of liner conferences in the world and in the European Community, focusing in particular on the Regulation which granted a block exemption to liner conferences. Then, it examines one by one the four conditions for a block exemption to be granted under EC law, and concludes that none of them is fulfilled by shipping cartels. Finally, it proposes some alternative scenarios and solutions for the adequate enforcement of antitrust law in the maritime sector once the block exemption has been repealed.
A previous winner of the Comité Maritime International’s Albert Lilar Prize for the best shipping law book worldwide, EU Shipping Law is the foremost reference work for professionals in this area. This third edition has been completely revised to include developments in the competition/antitrust regime, new safety and environmental rules, and rules governing security and ports. It includes detailed commentary and analysis of almost every aspect of EU law as it affects shipping.
Since it was first published in 1964, Elements of Shipping has become established as a market leader. Now in its ninth edition, Branch’s Elements of Shipping, renamed in memory of Alan Branch, has been updated throughout and revised to take in the many changes that have occurred in the shipping industry in recent years, including the impact of the economic crisis, the Panama Canal expansion and new legislation. All tables and data have been brought up-to-date and many new illustrations have been added. The book explains in a lucid, professional manner the basic elements of shipping, including operational, commercial, legal, economic, technical, managerial, logistical and financial considerations. It also explores how shipping markets behave and provides an overview of the international shipping industry and seaports. Filling a gap for the discerning reader who wishes to have a complete understanding of all the elements of the global shipping scene together with the interface with seaports, international trade and logistics, it remains essential reading for shipping executives along with students and academics with an interest in the shipping industry.
The Chinese maritime and shipping market has been expanding enormously in recent times as its commercial capacity to perform shipping, ship building, banking and insurance activities grows and the role of the State as guarantor of commerce is gradually reduced. This book provides a detailed guide to current Chinese maritime law, written by an expert team of contributors and systematically covering key areas such as carriage of goods by sea, international trade, vessels and seafarers and maritime liabilities. The authors explore cutting-edge issues within each topic, and analyse current trends in law reform. The book will be of interest to academics researching commercial and maritime law, as well as maritime law practitioners and shipping industry professionals working with aspects of Chinese maritime practice.