Una introducción a la Ley 16/1989 de defensa de la competencia: la tradición norteamericana y el contexto comunitario

Competition, in accordance with the classical theory, is not only a demonstrable fact within a market system, but a model of economic behaviour which requires specific instruments to protect it against monopolistic tendencies. The antitrust legal technique, among other strategies to combat the cost of monopoly, was created in the United States by the Sherman s Law of 1890. The model developed after that date had an influence, after the Second World War, on the E.C.S.C. and E.E.C. treaties. Nevertheless, the European antitrust system shows relevant differences with regard to the American system, due both to its political objectives and to the economic environment. The Spanish system, influenced by the American and European experiences, has gone through three stages: the unsuccessful application of the Law of 1963, a transitional stage and the stage which began with the Law of 1989. Data relating to 1990 and 1991 show a favourable change.