WOLTERS KLUWER LAWYERS' AWARD: REVISION OF MARKET DEFINITION

WE ARE HONORED TO HAVE BEEN SHORTLISTED FOR TWO OF OUR SUBMISSIONS IN THE COMPETITION LAW CATEGORY FOR THIS YEAR'S LAWYERS' AWARD.

 

In the Wolters Kluwer Lawyers' Award, law firms were invited to submit innovative solutions in order to help clients. Six submissions were highlighted in each category from which the winner will be selected. The submissions will be judged primarily on the basis of innovation, client focus and exemplarity. We are proud that in the competition law category, two submissions from Bitai Law Firm were selected.

Not many people may know, but competition law is such a priority legal area in the eye of the European Union that in some cases the European Commission itself has the power to act directly as a competition authority. The Commission, known in legal jargon as the "EU competition authority", spends a lot of energy to create free and fair competition for all in the European internal market and to keep the practices of the competition authorities of the Member States in line. Like most other legal areas, competition law must meet the challenges of rapid modernisation and digitalisation in the 21st century.

In order to successfully take on this task, the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) has launched a call for tenders regarding a competition law research, which has been awarded to Grimaldi Alliance which is an international association of independent law firms. The primary objective of the research was to identify the most relevant issues in competition market definition across the European Union.

Bitai Law Firm, as a member of the Grimaldi Alliance and exclusive representative in the Hungarian market, participated in the research. The work involved extensive practical and academic analysis with the support of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH), evaluating its relevant practice. The main questions of the research were the following: Can an innovation be considered a market in itself? What are the implications of market definition for e-Commerce?

In addition, as the result of the innovative work of our Firm, the European Commission considered Hungary's competition law practice worthy of a so-called complementary study, highlighting the Hungarian competition law practice. It is an honor for us that the thorough work and innovative ideas of our colleagues have been recognized by experts at the highest level, thereby helping the legislative work of the Commission.

The announcement and award ceremony of the Lawyers' Award will take place on 24 November 2023 with the participation of our team.