On the Merits. Current Issues in Competition Law and Policy

This collection of fifteen essays, already impressive in its range and depth of analysis, represents a considerable testament to the range and depth of Peter Plompen's expertise, his unique contribution to the development of European and national competition law (a.k.a. anti-trust law) and policy over the lively 25 years of his tenure at Philips. It furthermore provides an analysis at once fascinating and critical of a field of law, the very dynamics of which contribute to offer major challenges to all those involved in it and with it, whether they are policy makers, practitioners, enforcers or indeed 'consumers' - general or in-house counsel, as well as the final consumers of the products and services offered by their firms. Any attempt to capture and systematically analyze these dynamics - 'the shifting sands and troubled waters' - the 'remarkable journey towards convergence' - to borrow from the titles of just two of the contributions to this Liber is a complex intellectual endeavour and practical challenge in its own right.

Paul Lugard is a competition law partner in Baker Botts' Brussels office with considerable experience in merger control proceedings, exclusionary conduct, distribution arrangements, technology licensing and matters on the intersection of intellectual property and antitrust law. Paul assists clients in a wide variety of industries, including FMCG’s, telecommunications, consumer electronics, medical imaging, chemicals, semiconductors, oilfield services, LNG and the automotive parts sector. As the former Head of Antitrust at Royal Philips Electronics, Paul managed all significant antitrust matters for the company, securing merger clearances and advising on all aspects of competition law. He has also designed, implemented and managed antitrust compliance programs for clients in Europe and internationally. In addition, since 1997 Paul is active in the development of international competition law policy, currently serving as Chair of the ICC Competition Commission, as a European Commission and Dutch Competition Agency Non-Governmental Advisor (NGA) to the International Competition Network, and as Vice Chair of the Competition Committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD. Paul Lugard is an Assistant Professor at TILEC (Tilburg Law and Economics Center) at Tilburg University, the Netherlands and has served as President of the Dutch Association for Competition Law. He is admitted in The Netherlands and Belgium.