In 2010 the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. To mark this occasion UOKiK is organising a series of events and conferences promoting both competition and consumer protection. The culmination of the celebrations will be the Jubilee Conference on Current Issues in Competition Law, to be held on 27 of May 2010 in Warsaw.
The UOKiK writes, “In 2010 Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) is celebrating 20 years of its existence. The anniversary marks a significant date in the history of Polish competition protection but also a milestone in Poland’s history. It was the political transformation, launched by the decisions of 1989, which made it possible to pass a legislative package introducing market reforms in Poland. The package included the 1990 Act on Counteracting Monopolistic Practices which established the Antimonopoly Office, now the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Twenty years later we are proud to celebrate our achievements and boast a robust democracy and a thriving market economy governed by the principles of free competition. We see this occasion as a unique opportunity to ignite a debate on the most cutting-edge issues in competition law and policy with the view to the new challenges lying ahead of us.”
The aim of the conference is to bring together the world’s leading figures in competition law and enforcement. The event will see contributions, among others, from Alexander Italianer, Director-General for Competition, European Commission, William E. Kovacic, Commissioner of the US Federal Trade Commission, Frederic Jenny, Chairman of the OECD Competition Committee, Eleanor M. Fox Professor of Trade Regulation, New York University School of Law, Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, Scott Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement, US Department of Justice, Pieter Kalbfleisch, Chairman of the Board of the Netherlands Competition Authority, Peter Freeman, Chairman of the UK Competition Commission and Eddy de Smijter, Private Enforcement Administrator, DG for Competition, as well as eminent representatives of the NCAs, judges and academics.
The Office is also planning to publish a jubilee collection of essays from renowned authors entitled ‘Changes in Competition Policy over the Last Two Decades’, consisting of four parts respectively, devoted to unlawful agreements, merger control, state aid, and competition policy challenges.
For more information, see here and here.