India to host 17th Annual Conference of International Competition Network 2018 (ICN2018) from 21st to 23rd March 2018 in New Delhi. While addressing the press conference, Competition Commission of India’s Chairperson Shri Devender Singh Sikri said that this is the first time India is hosting the ICN2018 Annual Conference since it joined International Competition Network (ICN) in 2009. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley will inaugurate ICN2018 Annual Conference on 21st March 2018 while Union Minister for Railways and Coal Shri Piyush Goyal will attend the valedictory on the final day of the conference.

CCI Chairperson Shri Sikri said that the ICN is an informal network comprising 138 competition authorities from 125 jurisdictions. This Annual Conference is a key international platform in the field of competition law and policy and its 17th edition will bring together over 500 heads and senior officials of competition authorities, non-governmental advisors, distinguished legal experts and economists from over 100 countries.

Besides CCI Chairperson Shri Sikri, CCI members Shri Sudhir Mital, Shri Augustine Peter, Shri U.C. Nahta and Justice G.P. Mittal also addressed queries by media persons.

The CCI Chairperson further said that the conference is in line with India’s ever-growing engagement with the world on vital policy issues. With globalisation and digitalisation blurring the geographical boundaries for business, need for international cooperation and experience-sharing has increased. He said that the Conference will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and strategies for effective enforcement of competition law and for strengthening cooperation amongst the competition authorities as they strive to promote and sustain competition in rapidly changing markets.

The ICN advocates adoption of superior standards and procedures in competition enforcement around the world, formulates proposals for procedural and substantive convergence, and facilitates effective international cooperation to the benefit of member agencies, consumers and economies worldwide.

Mr Andreas Mundt, President, Federal Cartel Office, Germany and the Chair, ICN Steering Group will preside over the proceedings of the Conference.

The Annual Conference will comprise seven plenary sessions and twenty four breakout sessions. These sessions will cover, inter alia, the following themes:

1. Special Project on Cartel Enforcement and Competition
2. Advocacy for the Good Times, the Bad Times or Any Time
3. Perspectives from the Bench: Litigating competition cases
4. Vertical Mergers
5. Online Markets and Vertical Restraints: the Same Old Story?
6. Incentives, Deterrence and Compensation
7. Implementation in ICN

Key speakers at the Conference will include among others:

1. Andreas Mundt, President, Federal Cartel Office, Germany
2. Devender Kumar Sikri, Chairperson, CCI
3. Maureen Ohlhausen, Acting Chairman, US Federal Trade Commission
4. John Pecman, Commissioner of Competition, Canada Competition Bureau
5. Arjan K. Sikri, Judge, Supreme Court of India
6. Denis Gascon, Chairperson, Canadian Competition Tribunal
7. Norman Manoim, Chairperson, Competition Tribunal of South Africa
8. Isabelle de Silva, President, French Competition Authority
9. Rod Sims, Chairman, Australia Competition and Consumer Commission
10. Alejandra Palacios Prieto, Chairwoman, Mexico Federal Economic Competition Commission

Competition law cooperation advances as India hosts international conference to promote enforcement convergence and cross border coordination. India will host the International Competition Network 17th Annual Conference in New Delhi, assembling senior competition agencies, advisors and experts to promote procedural and substantive convergence in enforcement, strengthen cross border cooperation, and share strategies for effective competition law enforcement in global and digital markets. The programme includes plenary and breakout sessions on cartel enforcement, advocacy, judicial perspectives, vertical mergers, online markets and enforcement implementation.