Exploring The "Golden Mean" For International Antitrust Governance

Is there a“Golden Mean”between institutionalized international antitrust governance and soft law governance,so that more parties can be involved,and the antitrust agencies can also enjoy some flexibility?To answer this question,this paper first reviews the history and development of international antitrust governance,traces back to its development from both practical and theoretical perspectives,and analyzes the debate on the proper boundary of governance.Second,based on a review of the present situation of international antitrust governance,this paper analyzes non-official governance as the new model for promoting international antitrust cooperation,with a special focus on its traits,value and potential.Third,based on the textual interpretation of the operational mechanism of ICN,this paper holds that ICN has the qualities of equality,mutual assistance,and depoliticization,which provides a valuable learning opportunity for countries like China,that are in the development stage of competition law.However,ICN also has deficiencies such as the lack of international objectives and substantive influence.In the end,this paper proposes a roadmap for the potential developments for ICN.Considering ICN’s characteristics such as equality,mutual assistance,as well as its nonbinding effect,an informal governance mechanism like this provides a good platform for the development of domestic legal system and engagement in global governance.Effective international antitrust governance requires a "Golden Mean" between soft law governance and treaty-based narrow governance,i.e.finding a more flexible and dynamic way of cooperation like an informal governance mechanism,and adapting to the constant change of economic,cultural,and social reality.At the same time,the strength of informal governance can be combined with formal treaties like international treaties and national law,so that both of them can be a good complementary.