A legislative analysis of the legal framework governing restrictive business practices: A comparative study of the European Union and The Gambia

Abstract: Competition policy is important for the promotion of fair competition, preventing abuse of market power and protecting consumer and business interests. It is thus an area that builds and moulds itself according to the fabric or structure of society and eventually evolves by habitually adjusting to the dynamics of government economies. Despite the different economic dynamics between the European Union and The Gambia, both jurisdictions have built their competition policies on the foundation to ensure consumer welfare and to preserve a free and fair competition environment. One of the objectives of competition policy is to allocate resources efficiently by incentivizing businesses or undertakings to innovate goods and services and to offer competitive prices. In this way, competitive markets will promote economic growth by stimulating innovation, increasing productivity and job opportunities. However, restrictive business practices can cause harm to consumers by limiting their market choices. In the EU, Article 101 and 102 of the TFEU prohibits such exploitative practices within its internal market and in The Gambia, Part six of its Competition Act 2007 deals with its restrictive business practices in its free market economy. Thus, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the legislative frameworks governing restrictive business practices in the EU and The Gambia. The objective is to examine the similarities and differences between the two jurisdictions, identify best practices and propose recommendations for improvement in the legal regimes. This will be achieved through the study of key aspects of anticompetitive laws of the EU and The Gambia, competition policies, and regulatory measures that address issues like market dominance, abuse of the market, price fixing and other restrictive business practices. Consequently, this paper will recommend improvements for The Gambia’s Competition Commission to be at par with its counterpart i.e., the EU, whose institution is more advanced, stronger in terms of structure and fully funded functioning Competition Commission.