Antitrust Laws Extraterritorial Application Of The Legal System

As the most effective system to regulate the market, antitrust law's importance has been acknowledged by most countries with developed market economy. For example, the U.S. antitrust laws have been described as "the Magna Charta of Free Enterprises". Futhermore,a U.S. professor had said that "the competition policy provisions might appear in the United States Constitution if it were written in 1994 rather than 1787 ".With the reduction of governmental barriers to free trade, the behaviors of multinational corporations overstep the boundary of countries more frequently, so their influnce is also more international. Because there is no unified international law to regulate multinational monopoly conducts completely and no international institution to solve relevant monopoly controversies fairly, the international regulation to the controversies can not be achieved. On the other hand, it is necessary for affected countries or regions to apply their antitrust laws extraterritorially. At present, although there are many conflicts and difficulties in extraterritorial application of antirtust law (hereinafter referred to as "extraterritorial application"),most developed countries and regions have established the extraterritorial application institution in their antitrust laws.Chinese theoretical research on antitrust laws has began as early as the time of reform and opening up which also achieves gratifying successes, and the antitrust legislation has also began ten years ago, but there is no complete Antitrust law in China today. So we can say that Chinese theoretical research on extraterritorial application is beginning, but Chinese legislation of the application is empty.On the background, the essay, taking the formation, developement and perfection of extraterritorial application as a clue, makes a more systematic research on the definition and fundamental principles of extraterritorial application. Meanwhile, using the methods of comparative, positive and historical research, the essay analyses the practices of foreign countries, the conflicts and difficulties in extraterritorial application and the solutions to them. The essay will also put forward some proposals to establish Chinese institution of extraterritorial application later. The essay has more than 60,000 words which are divided into five parts:Section one mainly deals with general theories of extraterritorial application. Firstly, the author analyses the "definition of extraterritorialapplication "which is a negligent problem to most scholars, and then the author draws a conclusion that "the scope of law" is the basis to make out the differences between extraterritorial effect and territorial effect of antitrust laws; Seondly, the author researches on the formation, developement and perfection of extraterritorial application with positive method which aimed at revealing the laws and characteristics of extraterritorial application; Finally, the author makes a comparative research on the fundamental principles of extraterritorial application which aimed at understanding the extraterritorial application of relevant countries and regions macroscopicaly.Section two researches on the practices of relevant foreign countries and regions. Since the United States is the first country which not only enacted statutory antitrust law,but also established the institution of extraterritorial application, it is beneficial for every country to research on the American practices.For the purpose of reference,the author firstly proves the stages and characteristics of American practices,and then the author analyses the practices of Germany and EU which were affected by American practices.Section three analyses the conflicts and difficulties in extraterritorial application.As an institution,the extraterritorial application has been established by most developed countries and regions which also has some foundations in public international law.Otherwise,if antitrust law of one country intervenes in other countries or regions to regulate,it will result in not onl...