Competition is the principle element of markets, in the princely sense of the term.The relationships that regulation maintains with competition are ambiguous. It is important to eliminate this ambiguity in order to reveal the ab initio opposition between regulation and competition, to shed light upon the dialectics between both of them. Indeed, regulation may aim at building competition, and is thereby presented as a tool that will cease being used when the competitive market functions effectively.
Administration - Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et des Postes - Competition - Competition Authority - Conflict of intersts - Consumer - Contract - Equilibrium - European Commission - Ex ante / Ex post - Government - Hayek - Horyzontal regulation - Information asymmetry - Liberalisation - Market failure - Natural economic monopoly - Online gambling - Political mandate - Postal services - Power - Principle - Real economy - "Réglementation" - Regulator - Regulatory Authority - Self regulation - symmetrical regulation - Telecommunication - Tool - Watchdog *
* In The Journal of Regulation, these keywords are done by the Editor and not by the Author.
PORTUGUESE
Artigo: Regulação versus Concorrência
Concorrência é o principal elemento dos mercados, no mais genuíno sentido da palavra. As relações que regulação mantém com a concorrência são ambíguas. É importante eliminar essa ambiguidade de modo a relativizar a oposição ab initio entre regulação e concorrência, para trazer luz para a dialética entre elas. Com efeito, regulação pode tender a construir a concorrência, e é então apresentada como uma ferramenta que deixará de ser usada quando o mercado competitivo passar a funcionar realmente.
Administração – Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et des Postes – Concorrência – Autoridade de concorrência – Conflito de interesse – Consumidor – Contrato – Equilíbrio – Comissão Europeia – Ex ante / Ex post – Governo – Hayek – Regulação horizontal – Informação assimétrica – Liberalização – Falha de mercado – Monopólio econômico natural – Jogo em linha – Mandato político – Serviços postais – Poder – Princípio – Economia real – Regulamentação – Regulador – Autoridade de regulação – Auto-regulação – Regulação simétrica – Telecomunicações – Ferramenta – Observador*
* No Journal of Regulation, as palavras-chave são fornecidas pelo Diretor, e não pelo Autor.
ITALIAN
Articolo: Regolazione vs. Concorrenza
La concorrenza è il principio fondamentale dei mercati, nel senso stretto del termine. Le relazioni tra regolazione e concorrenza sono ambigue. Per rivelare il contrasto tra regolazione e concorrenza è importante cancellare questa ambiguità e chiarire la dinamica di questi due concetti. In effetti, la regolazione punta a sviluppare la concorrenza ed è spesso considerata uno strumento che non avrà più ragion d’essere una volta che il mercato funzionerà in libera concorrenza.
Amministrazione - Asimmetria dell’informazione - Autoregolazione - Autorità di regolazione - Autorité de Régulation des Communications électroniques et des Postes - Autorità garante della concorrenza - Commissione Europea - Concorrenza - Conflitto di interessi - Contratto - Consumatore - Economia reale - Equilibrio - Ex ante / Ex post - Governo - Hayek - Liberalizzazione - Mancato Funzionamento del mercato - Monopolio economico naturale - Mandato politico - Potere - Principio - "Regolamentazione" - Regolatore - Regolazione orizzontale - Regolazione simmetrica - Servizi postali - Scommesse online - Strumento - Telecomunicazioni - Vigilanza *
* In The Journal of Regulation, le parole chiave sono responsabilità dell’Editore e non dall’Autore.
SPANISH
Artículo: Regulación versus la competencia
La competencia es el elemento principal de los mercados, en precisamente el sentido de este término. Es importante eliminar esta ambigüedad para poder revelar la posición ab initio entre la regulación y la competencia, para poder traer a luz las dialécticas entre las dos. Así tanto, la regulación puede intentar construir la competencia, y es, por consiguiente, un instrumento que cesará de ser utilizado cuando el mercado competitivo funcione de manera eficaz.
It translates into a set of obligations that companies must perform to ensure that harmful behavior does not occur, such as bribery, money laundering, pollution, etc.
This results in "structural" obligations, such as the establishment of a risk map, a third-party vigilance system, internal controls, the adoption of codes.
The practical question that arises is whether to punish a company, it is necessary but it is sufficient that the company has not adopted these structural measures, or if it is also necessary that within it or through the persons whom it must be accountable (through the corporate officers and the employees, but also the suppliers, the sub-contractors, the financed operators, etc.) there were behaviors that Compliance Law prohibits, for example corruption, money laundering, pollution, safety-related accident, etc.
The question is probative. Its practical stake is considerable.
Because to obtain the conviction the prosecuting authority will have to demonstrate not only a failure in the structural device but also a behavioral failure.
Si l'on considère que le Droit de la Compliance est à la fois sur l'Ex Ante et sur l'Ex Post, alors l'autorité de poursuite qui requiert une sanction doit démontrer qu'il y a un comportement reprochable (Ex Post) et qu'à cela correspond une défaillance structurelle (par exemple le compte bancaire anormal n'a pas été signalé) ; si l'on considère que le Droit de la Compliance est purement en Ex Ante, alors même s'il n'y a pas de comportement reprochable en Ex Post, la seule défaillance structurelle suffit pour que l'entreprise qui doit l'organiser en son sein soit sanctionné.
If we consider that Compliance Law is both on the Ex Ante and the Ex Post, then the prosecuting authority that requires a sanction must show that there is a reprehensible behavior (Ex Post ) and that this corresponds to a structural failure (for example the abnormal bank account has not been reported); if we consider that Compliance Law is purely Ex Ante, then even if there is no reprehensible behavior in Ex Post, the only structural failure is enough for the company to be sanctioned, even if it does its best efforts, even if no prohibited behavior will have accured in Ex Post.
The second system, which is much more repressive and places a considerable burden on companies, even if there is no proven illicit behavior, is that of French Law, probably because of a tendency towards Ex Ante organization. ..
Mais il faut garder mesure. Et cette mesure est probatoire.
But we must keep measure. And this measure is probative.
This is what the Commission des Sanctions of the Agence Française Anticorruption -AFA (French Anti-Corruption Agency's Sanctions Committee) has just said, in its decision of 4 July 2019, SAS S. et Madame C.,(written in French) contradicting the position of its director, who acted as the prosecuting authority. This is yet another general proof of the autonomy of the Sanctions Committee vis-à-vis to the Administrative Authority of which it is a part, and in relation to its director, who nevertheless governs it. But, jurisdictional model obliges, he has here the status of prosecuting authority, is subject to the regime of this one and not to the regime of head of the entity. Demonstration of the "functional autonomy" of the sanctioning bodies within the administrative regulatory and compliance authorities.
Indeed, this important decision expresses with precision and reason the distribution of the "burden of the allegation" and the "burden of proof" on the prosecuting body and on the company pursued, as well as the role of presumption that the recommendations issued by the French Anti-corruption Authority can play.
Initially the Regulation assumes the consideration of technical objects (telephone, airplane, train, wheat, currency, electricity, etc.). This practical perspective opposes the abstract view of competition law that neutralizes objects by their monetary evaluation and the elaboration of a "fair price" obtained by the meeting of supply and demand in a market.Thus, each technical object has developed specific regulation as in a cottage garden: banking regulation, financial regulation, railway regulation, telecommunications regulation, power regulation, gaming regulation, horse races regulation, and so on. The body of rules and institutions were built, unique to each object, more effective than the behemoth that is the State in charge of all these so different objects and pursuing so many objectives that it was criticized for its inefficiency.
But different technical objects are not isolated from each other. As financial products have long taken the other items as "underlying". More Internet has introduced a novelty that could be radical.
Indeed, the Internet allows a circulation seems unhindered benefits that fall most often regulated sectors (financial services, health service, audiovisual services, etc.). Moreover, new objects appear, the "connected objects" whose creation is based on the Internet's ability to set effective relationship hitherto separate sectors, eg telecommunication and health services (the "connected health ).
Therefore, the Internet, which is often presented as a regulatory desert, appears as a jumble of different regulations, which contradict or are deformed by passing in the virtual world and crossing or even clashing with other regulation. So Internet would appear at first glance as a "space of interregulation".
The conference of 16 September 2015 dedicates its morning to draw up a diagnostic for measuring the "needs" of the Internet interregulation, so that the afternoon will allow to develop some "solutions" to interregulation. On this occasion, we can measure whether it will adapt traditional regulations because of new technologies and new uses, or more radically rethink sectoral regulations and regulatory law because Internet
