Filip Lubinski

I invite my European University Institute colleagues to a session on ‘Uncertainty and Competition Law’ that I will lead on May 2nd.

The session opens a ‘Regulating Uncertainty’ seminar organized by Pankhudi Khandelwal, Velizar Kirilov, Alena Yarmak, and me.

https://www.eui.eu/DepartmentsAndCentres/academic-catalogue/Course-detail?course_id=LAW-RT-REGUNC-24

“This seminar explores how legal institutions account for the uncertainty factor. To that end, it outlines three types of uncertainty. First, science-based industries and dynamic markets challenge regulators by creating (A) technological uncertainty – i.e., a limited understanding of how a new technology operates, its role in follow-on technical development, and how it impacts society. Second, regulating in a context of technological uncertainty often leads to (B) legal uncertainty – i.e., the presence of entitlements with unclear scope, conflicting rules, and unforeseeable legislative changes and judicial interpretations. Third, (C) unforeseeable or limitedly foreseeable events, such as natural disasters, pandemics, armed conflicts, or economic and financial shocks, pose challenges to regulators and necessitate the development of legal institutions limiting their effects.

The unique characteristics of competition law systems come from the goal of protecting complex economic processes rather than individuals or the state. The crucial role of legal interpretation in the enforcement and the influence of the continuously evolving economic theory may lead to legal uncertainty. It connects with technological uncertainty emerging from a digital economy with distinct dynamics and patterns. The broad scope of competition law in the complex structure of the modern world must challenge a polycrisis caused by interrelated social and economic problems.”