On 30 November, Saint Andrews Night, the Scottish Competition Law Forum celebrated its first anniversary in Edinburgh.
A drinks reception was hosted by Shepherd and Wedderburn at which Gordon Downie welcomed 60 guests who had come to join in the celebrations. Gordon talked about the Forum’s calendar of events for next year which will include seminars on public procurement, cartels, the consumer and competition law and a sectoral event. Smaller follow-up get-togethers following each meeting were also to be introduced.
Jo Armstrong, Independent Economist, Heike Gading from the Scottish Executive, Abbe Brown from Edinburgh University and Vincent Smith from the OFT, all said a few words about the Forum. Representing some of the core sectors that are active in the Forum, they talked about what they felt the SCLF had achieved during its first year, what they would like the Forum to accomplish in the coming year, and how they and the sectors they represent would be able to contribute.
The consensus was that the Forum has managed to invigorate the competition law debate in Scotland and has started to bring together those with an interest in this subject. As for the future, there where plenty of useful suggestions for how the organisation should move forward.
Introduced by Sir David Edward, judge in the European Court of Justice leg of the Crehan case, the Honourable Sir Andrew Park, High Court judge in the Crehan case, then gave the audience a unique insight into one of the most talked about competition law cases of all time. We heard about poor Mr Crehan and his trials and tribulations when trying to attain damages from his pub landlord for holding him to a beer tie which he argued breached competition law.
Sir Andrew gave a vivid account of the case, including his most diligent on-site visit to the public house in question, and the numerous witness statements he had to listen to regarding the drinking habits of the people of Staines. He had listened with a mixture of admiration and alarm, he told us, to accounts of the volumes which the guests would consume nightly.
Whilst Sir Andrew, and rightly so, was pleased to have had his conclusions supported by the House of Lords, he did express regret at the consequences of the outcome of the case for Mr and Mrs Crehan, who in the end did not manage to receive any competition law damages.
The reception was followed by dinner for 48 at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society where we arrived at the tones of Grant McKelvey bagpiping. The convivial evening was rounded up with a treat in the form of Ian Forrester Q.C., currently acting for Microsoft, giving us food for thought on what it is like to be representing a client in litigation against the European Commission.
The event was organised by the Forum’s Planning Committee comprising of Gordon Downie, Kyla Brand from the Office of Fair Trading, Professor Barry Rodger and Charlotte Sjostedt.