Peter Whelan

Research Fellow in Competition Law

Education

Peter holds both a Degree in Law and French (LLB (Ling Fran)) and a Master of Laws (LLM) from Trinity College, Dublin. During his primary degree, and under the Erasmus programme, he spent a university year studying French law at the Université de Poitiers, France. Peter came first overall in his class in his Senior Freshman year at Trinity. Peter is currently studying for a PhD in Law at St John's College, Cambridge; his chosen topic is 'Competition and the Criminal Law'. For more info on this doctoral thesis, please click here.

Bar Admissions

Peter is a member of the New York State Bar.

Role at the Institute

Peter is a Research Fellow in Competition Law at the Competition Law Forum (CLF) of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, publishing mainly on the topic of cartels, enforcement mechanisms, consumer welfare, distribution systems, and criminalisation. Since joining the Institute, Peter has been responsible for various competition law projects, including among others:

BIICL Yearbook: Current Competition Law (as co-editor);
CEPR Project on International Competition Cooperation;
DG Sanco - Consumers International Competition Project; and
Various Competition Law Forum Working Groups (on e.g. Private Actions, Consumer Detriment, the Reform of Regulation 1/2003, Hub and Spoke Agreements).

Peter is also a regular contributor to the British Institute's Bulletin of International Legal Developments on EC, UK and US antitrust and merger law, as well as US constitutional developments.

External Activities

Peter regularly engages in various external legal/educational activities, such as:

Managing Editor, Cambridge Student Law Review;
Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge;
Associate Tutor in Law, Norwich Law School, University of East Anglia;
Article Referee, Melbourne Journal of International Law and European Competition Journal;
External Legal Researcher, Cooper Kenyon Burrows Solicitors;
Guest Lecturer, The City Law School, City University London;
Legal Rapporteur, The British Brands Group;
Antitrust Blogger, Centre for Competition Policy; and
(Business and Legal) English Language Teacher, Heilongjiang Business and Technical College, Harbin, People's Republic of China.

Research Interests

Peter's main research interests are cartel law, comparative competition law, comparative criminal law, and EU law. He is also interested in international law and human rights law.

Recent Publications

Books

Current Competition Law: Volume V, Marsden, Hutchings and Whelan (eds), (London: BIICL, 2007)

Chapters

'Protecting Human Rights in the Context of European Antitrust Criminalisation', Chapter 9, The Reform of EC Competition: Towards an Optimal Enforcement System, Lianos & Kokorris (eds), (Kluwer International: Amsterdam, 2010), forthcoming
'The "Consumer Welfare" Standard as a Form of Substantive Protection for Consumers under European Competition Law', Chapter 16, Own Labels, Branded Goods and Competition Policy: The Changing Landscape of Retail Competition, Ezrachi & Bernitz (eds), (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2009), with P Marsden

Articles (Sole Author)

'Trading Negotiations between Retailers and Suppliers: A Fertile Ground for Anti-Competitive Horizontal Information Exchange?' (2009) 5(3) European Competition Journal 823
'Morality and Its Restraining Influence on European Antitrust Criminalisation' (2009) 12 Trinity College Law Review 40 [Winner of the Best Article Prize 2009, Trinity College Law Review]
'Contemplating the Future: Personal Criminal Sanctions for Infringement of EC Competition Law' (2008) 19(2) King's Law Journal 364
'A Principled Argument for Personal Criminal Sanctions as Punishment under EC Cartel Law' (2007) 4(1) Competition Law Review 7
'The Role of Third Parties in the Competition Enforcement Landscape: A Critical Review' [2007] Competition Law Journal 41

Articles (Co-Author)

'Selective Distribution in the Age of Online Retail' [2010] European Competition Law Review, forthcoming, with P Marsden
'Re-Examining Trans-Atlantic Divergences in Substantive and Procedural Competition Law' (2009) 10 Sedona Conference Journal 23, with P Marsden
'Intervention and the Internal Market: Contemporary European Competition Initiatives Concerning Distribution in the Market for New Cars' (2008) 4(2) European Competition Journal 485, with P Marsden
'"Consumer Detriment" and its Application in EC and UK Competition Law' (2006) 27(10) European Competition Law Review 569, with P Marsden
'Consumer Interest in Competition Law Cases' (2006) 16(5) Consumer Policy Review 180, with M Hutchings OBE

Case Notes

'Resisting the Long Arm of Criminal Antitrust Laws: Norris v. US' (2009) 72(2) Modern Law Review 272
'The Degussa Case' (2008) 7(8) Competition Law Insight 13
'Private Enforcement and Commission Decisions: The Crehan Case' (2007) 3 Cambridge Student Law Review 108

Legal Features

'Something of a Burden: Is the Passing-On Defence Appropriate?' (2008) 7(9) Competition Law Insight 5
'When Markets are Failing: Part II' (2007) 6(2) Competition Law Insight 6, with P Marsden
'When Markets are Failing: Part I' (2007) 6(1) Competition Law Insight 6, with P Marsden
'Competition Law Feature: Recent Developments Concerning the Rights of Complainants and Third Parties under both UK and EC Competition Law' [2006] 14 Bulletin of Legal Developments 157

Book Reviews

'Book Review: Efficiency and Justice in European Antitrust Enforcement (Wils)' (2009) 34(1) European Law Review 160
'Book Review: What About Law? (Barnard, O'Sullivan & Virgo, eds)' (2008) 4(2) Cambridge Student Law Review 337
'Book Review: The Antitrust Religion (Rockefeller)' (2008) 4(1) European Competition Journal 397
'Book Review: Global Competition Law and Economics (Elhauge & Geradin, eds)' (2008) 66(1) Cambridge Law Journal 211
'Book Review: Butterworths Competition Law Handbook (Lindrup, ed)' (2008) 4(1) Cambridge Student Law Review 141
'Book Review: Criminalization of Competition Law Enforcement: Economic and Legal Implications for the EU Member States (Cseres, Schinkel & Vogelaar, eds)' (2006) 2 European Competition Journal 451

Academic Papers

'The Appropriateness of the Passing-On Defence in Private Competition Law Enforcement', paper presented at the UKAEL Conference: 'Competition and Private Enforcement: The Next Steps', University College London, 4 July 2008
'The Concept of Price Discrimination under EC and UK Law', paper presented to the American Bar Association, Antitrust Teleseminar Series, 27 February 2006, with P Marsden
'The Contribution of Bilateral Trade or Competition Agreements to Competition Law Enforcement Cooperation between Canada and Chile' (London: CEPR, 2005), with P Marsden, paper presented at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Conference, Brussels and Paris, April and October 2005
'The Contribution of Bilateral Trade or Competition Agreements to Competition Law Enforcement Cooperation between Canada and Costa Rica' (London: CEPR, 2005), with P Marsden, paper presented at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Conference, Brussels and Paris, April and October 2005
'The Contribution of Bilateral Trade or Competition Agreements to Competition Law Enforcement Cooperation between the EU and Mexico' (London: CEPR, 2005), with P Marsden, paper presented at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Conference, Brussels and Paris, April and October 2005

Legal Submissions

'Reform of Regulation 1/2003: Correcting the Current Lack of Effective Communication: The Competition Law Forum's Submission to the European Commission in relation to its Consultation on Regulation 1/2003', 30 September 2008, with the CLF Working Group on Regulation 1/2003
'To What Extent Are Criminal Sanctions for Infringement of Articles 81 and 82 EC Necessary or Appropriate and Is There a Case and Basis for Criminalisation of Articles 81 and 82 at an EC Level?', 2007 Horsfall Turner Essay Competition, The Law Society's European Group, October 2007
'The Competition Law Forum's Submission to the European Commission in Response to its Green Paper on Damages Actions for Breach of the EC Antitrust Rules', 21 April 2006, with the CLF Working Group on Private Actions, republished in Current Competition Law: Volume V, Marsden, Hutchings and Whelan (eds), (London: BIICL, 2007)

Legal Bulletins

'Treuhand v. Commission' [2008] 15 BILD 169
'The O2/T-Mobile Judgment of the CFI' [2006] 10 BLD 109
'DONG/Elsam/Energi E2' [2006] 6 BLD 61
'Gonzales v. Oregon' [2006] 2 BLD 20
'Obituary: Chief Justice William Hubbs Rehnquist (1924-2005)' [2005] 18 BLD 12
'Sprint Corporation/Nextel Communications' [2005] 17 BLD 200
'British Horseracing Board v. The Office of Fair Trading' [2005] 17 BLD 196

Commissioned Reports

'Trends in Retail Competition: Private Labels, Brands and Competition Policy: 2009', London: BIICL, May 2009
'Trends in Retail Competition: Private Labels, Brands and Competition Policy: 2008', London: BIICL, May 2008
'Trends in Retail Competition: Private Labels, Brands and Competition Policy: 2007', London: BIICL, May 2007
'Competition Law and the Consumer: Results of the Legislative Survey on Fourteen European Competition Law Regimes', London: BIICL, March 2007, with P Marsden and P Schepens
'Examining National Compliance with "Pro-Competitive" Regulatory Commitments Made at the WTO in the Telecoms Sector: UK', London: BIICL, January 2006

Theses

'Globalisation and Antitrust: The Case for Increased Cooperation and Convergence in the Face of Excessive Extraterritorial Jurisdiction', Master of Laws Thesis, Trinity College, Dublin, September 2003

Presentations

'Resisting the Long Arm of Criminal Antitrust Laws', Fifth Annual PhD Workshop, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 17 June 2009
'Cartel Enforcement in a Globalised World: Extraterritoriality and Extradition', BIICL Annual Conference: Business and International Law, London, 5 June 2009
'The Norris Case', The City Law School, City University London, 10 November 2008
'Defences that are Appropriate in Follow-On Damages Actions', UKAEL Conference: 'Competition and Private Enforcement: The Next Steps', University College London, 4 July 2008
'On the Need for Personal Criminal Sanctions as Punishment under EC Cartel Law', Third Annual PhD Workshop, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, June 2007
'A Principled Argument for Personal Criminal Sanctions as Punishment under EC Cartel Law', Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, May 2007
'The Role of Third Parties in the Competition Enforcement Landscape - Recent EC Developments: A Critical Review', 1st Junior UK Competition Lawyers Conference, Competition Appeal Tribunal, London, December 2006
'Private Enforcement of EC Competition Law', Legal Implications of Business Conduct in Europe and Beyond: Risks and Rights, Global Legal Alliance Conference, Paris, October 2006
'"Consumer Detriment" and its Application in EC Competition Law', DG Sanco-Consumers International Competition Project, Second Regional Workshop, London, July 2006
'Introduction to EC Competition Law', DG Sanco-Consumers International Competition Project, First Regional Workshop, London, March 2006
'Competition Provisions in Bilateral Trade Agreements', Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) Conference, Paris, October 2005
'The Substantive Test under the European Community Merger Regulation', Trinity College, Dublin, April 2003
'The Concept of Dominance in EC Competition Law', Trinity College, Dublin, November 2002