Book Talk: Competition Law in South Asia: Policy Diffusion and Transfer

Chair: Natalie Mrockova, Supernumary Teaching Fellow, Merton College, Oxford

In the last twenty years, South Asian countries have increasingly engaged with modern competition legislation. Yet, apart from India and Pakistan, the countries in this region have had little success enforcing these laws. Competition Law in South Asia analyses the mechanisms and institutions through which Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Maldives Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan have engaged with modern competition legislation. The book argues that the success (or failure) of competition reform in these countries is inextricably linked to the unique interplay of mechanisms and legal and political institutions through which these countries have engaged with competition legislation. The book provides an in-depth comparative analysis of the adoption and implementation continuum in India and Pakistan, the compatibility and legitimacy generated by the adoption process, and its impact on implementation. Taking a far-reaching, comparative approach, the book draws lessons not only for countries in South Asia but also for emerging economies across the globe.

Dr Amber Darr, Lecturer in Competition Law and Co-Director of Social Responsibility for Law, University of Manchester School of Law

Amber Darr teaches competition law (both postgraduate and undergraduate) at the University of Manchester School of Law and is also a Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Centre for Law, Economics and Society. She completed her PhD from UCL Laws in 2018 in which she compared the diffusion and transfer of competition laws in India and Pakistan. Since then, she has expanded her research to include the six remaining South Asian countries. She is also a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and prior to proceeding for her PhD, practised corporate, commercial, and constitutional law in Pakistan. She also served as the Head of the Legal Department of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan for two years (2005-2007). She continues to comment on legal issues in the Pakistani and South Asian context through op-eds in the DAWN.