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| Sunday, 27 October 2002 |
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Competition policy and consumer protection The third National Reference Group (NRG) meeting under the CUTS 7-UP project was held in Colombo recently. The meeting was jointly organised by the Law and Society Trust (LST) and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS). CUTS 7-Up (Comparative Study of Competition Regimes of Seven Developing Countries of the Commonwealth), directed by the Consumer Unity and Trust Society of Jaipur, India, is funded by the Department for International Development, UK. One of its objectives is to form a National Reference Group in the project countries and to deliberate on the inputs prepared in each country. The NRG comprises lawyers, economists, officials from the Fair Trading Commission, academics, consumer organisations, trade unions, politicians, the media and other key stakeholders. The CUTS 7-Up, in its first phase, studied the administrative and institutional mechanisms pertaining to competition policy and consumer welfare. The functions of the Fair Trading Commission and the Department of Internal Trade were examined. The first phase has been concluded and the project has now progressed to its second phase, which concentrates on cross-border mergers and acquisitions in identified industries and the course of action followed by the Fair Trading Commission. The meeting was convened to present these findings. The meeting commenced with the presentation of the draft country report of phase II and dealt with three draft case studies covering the pharmaceutical, shipping and cement industries. The group expressed concern over the lack of progressive action in implementing the competition law of the country, especially in relation to international mergers. The lethargic attitude and inaction on the part of authorities were identified as the main stumbling blocks to the proper implementation of the laws. The Group also recognised that the competition law regime in the country is undergoing substantial changes. They were concerned about the delay in enacting the proposed Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Authority Law. The NRG and consumer organisations voiced distress over the marginal value attached to consumer welfare in the laws and implementation. The CUTS 7-Up project completed its first phase with the launch of the Phase I Country Report titled 'Towards a New Competition Law in Sri Lanka'. The report, authored by Pubudini Wickramaratne-Rupasinghe of LST and Thushari De Zoysa of IPS, was presented to Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Ravi Karunanayake. It is an in-depth analysis of the working of the competition law in the country, specially the Fair Trading Commission. |
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