The Rule Of Reason In American Antitrust Law

Anti-trust law is the important rule of protecting the American market economy while the rule of reason is the basic principle of antitrust analysis. The rule of reason for trade restrictions are considered as the foundation of modern rule of reason in the antitrust law by the legislators of the Sherman Act. The rule of reason in antitrust law has evolved in modern times, although it is the successor of the rule of reason in the trade restrictions during the period of laissez-faire.The modern economic is no longer rely on the regulation of the invisible hands which mentioned by Adam Smith, also requires the visible hands of Sherman Act as means of maintaining fair competition. The core point of modern rule of reason is economic efficiency, which can ensure the visible hand of intervention is modest. Under the rule of reason, the relevant antitrust issue-balancing precompetitive and anticompetitive-occurs, efficiently and precisely. It also requires the use of a reasonable analysis of methods to promote the regulation of the market economy in China’s anti-monopoly law. Therefore the clear understanding of rule of reason is quite necessary for our Anti-monopoly law.In this paper we try to sort out the difference between trade restrictions reasonable analysis methods and the rule of reason in antitrust law by commenting on a number of important cases, and discuss the influence on the antitrust law. Because of the rule of reason involved in a wide range of issues, this paper only focuses on the restraints agreement for example to discuss the development of its modern meaning. This paper consists of three parts. Part one analyzes the establishment of the modern rule of reason in antitrust law. After a brief review of the rule of reason in cases during the period of laissez-faire, we will find the prudent attitude in the American adoption of the rule of reason from U.K..We can also find out the reason why people take attention for the rule of reason again since it’s be discovered the blur pursers and the absence of the principle in the Sherman Act. Part two analyzes the appliance of rule of reason in the horizontal restraints and vertical restraints. We find the importance of the rule of reason for the modern market economy. Part three discuss the revelation of the rule of reason.The rule of reason plays an important role on the improvement of the anti-monopoly law enforcement. After the case discussions of China’s anti-monopoly law, this paper gives the suggestion that we should pay attention to the rule of reason.