A group of LLM, LLB and PhD students studying competition law at the School of Law were guests of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) on 12 February 2015. The students, accompanied by Professor Eyad Maher Dabbah and Dr Maria Ioannidou, were received and welcomed by some of the CAT’s key personnel, including Mr Peter Freeman, one of the CAT’s chairmen, Dr Adam Scott, CAT Director of Studies and the CAT’s current référendaires, Ms Jennifer Reeves and Ms Renella Reumerman.
The visit featured a comprehensive presentation by the référendaires on the work of the CAT and its role in competition enforcement as well as its “interaction” with other bodies in the UK, notably the new Competition and Markets Authority and sectoral regulators. Students also had the opportunity to get to know and chat to the CAT’s staff informally over coffee.
LLM Competition Law Student Representative, Ms Ivana Stojanovic, said: “It was a pleasure and a real privilege to visit the UK CAT, to meet its knowledgeable and experienced staff, and to learn first-hand about the CAT’s practices and the UK competition law system as a whole”.
Ms Julia Fuith, another LLM student, commented “This was a unique opportunity. The lively and well-structured presentation offered us a real insight into the work of the CAT especially with the in-depth analysis we had of some of the CAT’s most important cases.”
Professor Dabbah, Founder and Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Competition Law and Policy (ICC) said: “We express our thanks to colleagues at the CAT for their hospitality. At the ICC, we pride ourselves over the excellent network of links we enjoy with key bodies such as the CAT, with which we have always enjoyed a warm relationship since its establishment in 2003. I am grateful to my colleague, Sir Christopher Bellamy who facilitated this institutional link as the CAT’s first president and also grateful to my colleagues, The Honourable Mr Justice Roth, the CAT’s current president and the CAT’s Registrar, Charles Dhanowa for making this visit possible.”
Dr Ioannidou, Deputy Director at the ICC added “this was a productive and enjoyable visit for our students and a good opportunity for them to interact with the professional and friendly staff of the CAT.”