In early November 2020, the Competition Commission held its 14th Annual Conference. The theme of this year's conference was"Competition in a Crisis: Competition policy, regulation and enforcement in unprecedented times". The key issues listed below were raised throughout the conference in academic and plenary sessions:
- Covid-19 and competition enforcement
- Competition policy prioritisation
- The African Continental Free Trade Area
- Digital markets
- The intersection between consumer protection and competition law (particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic)
Esteemed speakers such as Wamkele Mene (the Secretary General of the AfCFTA) and Andreas Mundt (the President of the Bundeskartellamt and the Chair of the International Competition Network) presented keynote addresses, while international competition regulators (such as the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority) and several renowned academics participated in panel discussions. As expected much of the discussion focused on the global competition law response to the Covid-19 pandemic – in particular, the varying methods used to address alleged violations such as excessive pricing.
Significantly, the Competition Commission also used the conference as a platform to launch its
Digital Competition Report. The report addresses how South Africa’s competition laws can be implemented to achieve equitable outcomes in the digital economy and the Commission's proposed strategic actions in this regard.
The Competition Commissioner also bid farewell to Judge Dennis David as he retires after 21 years as judge of the Competition Appeal Court.
Our competition experts share valuable insights on some of the key topics discussed at the Competition Commission
In this video, Burton Phillips discusses the convergence between consumer protection and competition laws.
In this video, Andriza Liebenberg discusses competition policy and prioritisation in a post-Covid world.
In this video, Clare-Alice Vertue discusses an appropriate digital market response for a developing economy.
