Theoretical Research On Extraterritorial Application Of The United States Antitrust Laws

Extraterritorial application of antitrust laws means applying jurisdictions of antitrust laws of one country to foreign enterprises located outside of this country and the commercial activities happened in other countries. Although key problems caused by extraterritorial application of antitrust laws are conflicts of jurisdictions and of sovereigns among countries, its existence still has feasibility and rationality. America, the first country, enacted extraterritorial application of antitrust laws and turned it into the core issue in the field of international law. Furthermore, it developed a relative better system. This thesis will analyze extraterritorial application of the U.S. Antitrust laws in depth, including the principle of jurisdiction, international cooperation, principles of immunity, and obstructed measurements in the process of obtaining evidences and of execution. Then, it will exams the weakness of extraterritorial application of the China antitrust laws and proposes several ideas for improving it and establishing extraterritorial application in international antitrust law.In this paper, it defines the meaning, nature, necessity and practicability of extraterritorial application of antitrust law at first. Then, it studies the jurisdiction based on theory of international law, especially extraterritorial jurisdiction and its conflicts among different countries. Afterward, extraterritorial application in the basic American antitrust laws and relevant acts are summarized. Additionally, the development of extraterritorial application of the U.S. antitrust laws is discussed through definition of the "effect", limit of "comity", and changes from civil to criminal sanction.Then,doctrine of immunity and obstructed measurement in the process of obtaining evidences and execution are explored to offer methods for China to protect rights in those cases involving extraterritorial application of other countries antitrust law and to provide references for improving the obstructed measurement in the process of obtaining evidences and execution in China antitrust law. Last, it proposes several advises and ideas for improving extraterritorial application of China antitrust law and establishing extraterritorial application in international antitrust law.