A review of competition law of Zambia

Abstract

The Competition and Fair Trading Act, 1994, (the Act) CAP 417 of the Laws of Zambia, was enacted in 1994 to address the rules of competition in commerce and trade in the domestic economy following market economic reforms that were ushered in after 1991. The enactment of a competition law in Zambia was first of its kind and so has been the implementation since 1997 when the Zambia Competition Commission was established. This law has been in force for 10 years now, a long period that invariably necessitates some form of "stock taking". This dissertation highlights the major provisions of the competition law of Zambia and analyses their application. These are exemptions to the law, anti-competitive trade practices, and mergers and acquisitions. Through this, it is hoped that academic interest would be developed in the subject matter at the University of Zambia, noting that the School of Law has introduced a combined "Intellectual Property and Competition Law" course. The dissertation largely benefited from secondary data available with the Zambia Competition Commission, vast array of literature available on the subject matter and discussions with key staff at the Commission. While the findings show that the law is complex and somehow ambiguous, and that some provisions would need revision, the process would greatly benefit from the presence of some higher level of knowledge in the rationale of this law and the mischief it is legislated to arrest. (Key words: competition, anti-competitive, vertical arrangements, horizontal arrangements, mergers & acquisitions)