BOOK REVIEW EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW A Case Commentary Edited by Weijer VerLoren van Themaat and Berend Reuder Edward Elgar Publishing Limited Elgar Commentaries ISBN: 978 1 78347 686 2 www.e-elgar.com www.elgaronline.com AN ILLUSTRATIVE, ENLIGHTENING AND DOWNRIGHT USEFUL CURRENT STATEMENT ON EUROPEAN COMPETITION LAW An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Recently launched by Edward Elgar Publishing, this book explains European Union competition law in detail, not by means of learned commentary by expert authors, but by actual quotes from relevant passages chosen and extracted from the massive body of EU jurisprudence. In adopting this virtually unique approach, the two editors, together with nine other contributors, have produced rather a prodigious feat of scholarly research here. They have gone straight to the sources and done the legwork on European competition law, so to speak, so you don’t have to. The book contains masses of quotes taken from the Commission and the EU courts which present article by article an overview of EU competition law jurisprudence. The result is a useful and certainly time-saving tool for busy practitioners either involved with, or specializing in, EU competition law. As the editors point out, the European Treaty rules on competition have provoked much thought, argument and ultimately, judgments. The aim of the book therefore is to explain these rules by placing them together with case extracts from the most important Commission decisions and court cases. The extracts, say the publishers, have been selected for their interpretive value in order to demonstrate clearly how the European Commission and the courts have actually interpreted competition rules. The effect is certainly illustrative, enlightening and downright useful for the scholar or advocate. Exact quotes from original sources make for convincing evidence if you’re arguing a point with someone. Tracking down and quoting from source material is usually what distinguishes careful and accurate scholarship from the casual and slipshod. Being able, in this case, to apply the exact wording of the essential elements of important cases makes the presentation of advocacy all the more convincing. Fortunately the wealth of material contained in this volume of over 900 pages is book is quite easy to navigate. The concise table of contents at the front is followed by an extended table of contents which, in precise detail indicates the logical two-part structure of the book. Part 1 gives you the competition provisions of the EU Treaties and the main EU regulations on competition. Part 2 contains the relevant provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights. The extensive index at the back is useful for looking up specific subject matter and there is a formidable Table of Cases section of almost thirty-five pages. As the concept behind this book has generated a monumental amount of research, it is obviously an invaluable research tool for the practitioner. What is perhaps not quite so obvious is that it has been designed for everyday use, particularly for those advisers seeking formal authoritative source material to support legal analysis and argument. If you are involved professionally in advising on any aspect of EU competition law, this book should definitely be in your professional library. The publication date is cited as at 18 March 2014.

• published: 05 Apr 2015
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