The course will explore competition laws in the region with the aim of both creating awareness of the prohibitions and the harm caused to society by anticompetitive conducts, and substantial increase in concentration that can result from mergers. The learning will be reinforced through case examples.
On successful completion of the course, delegates will be able to:
This course is suitable for policy makers, journalists, members of NGOs, and individuals in the private sector and students.
Trade/government policy makers, business persons, University students, academics, and the general public
The goals of this course are to:
Familiarize participants with the laws of the region, the differences in these laws and issues that arise from this, and the interpretation of these laws for enforcement purposes.
Understand the methodology used by competition authorities in investigating and analysing cases that is very specific to competition law.
All signatories to the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas have an obligation enact domestic competition laws. At present, Jamaica, Barbados, T&T, and Guyana have done so, and there are draft laws in all other MS. The purpose of offering this course is to expand the awareness of participants to the benefits of competition law for society, ensuring that consumers are not harmed through misconduct by dominant firms or cartels. Successful competition law enforcement relies on public official awareness, as all government department policies must sync with competition law provision. Ultimately, stakeholders’ awareness is critical to successful enforcement.
The course will introduce delegates to the following:
The course will be delivered over two weeks and will be entirely online using a combination of synchronous and asynchronous tools and active learning strategies. These include:
Synchronous tools – web conferencing using Blackboard Collaborate, Zoom, Google Meet and / or Skype.
Asynchronous tools – discussion forums
Active learning strategies –presentations, individual and group activities
Dr. Taimoon Stewart is a consultant both in Competition Law and in international trade policy. Over the last 26 years, Dr. Stewart has advised governments on trade negotiations, including being lead negotiator for CARICOM in the Negotiating Group on Competition Policy in the Free Trade of the Americas negotiations during one phase of the negotiations, and Vice President of the NGCP during the other two of the three phases. She represented the government of Trinidad and Tobago at the WTO Working Group on Trade and Competition Policy. She has also conduct many workshops in the region, including for EU DG Competition projects. She has guided private sector firms to collect and collate the information required for a merger review application.
Dr. Stewart holds an undergraduate degree in Special Hons History from the University of the West Indies, Mona; a Post Grad Diploma in International Relations and a PhD in International Relations from the Institute of International Relations, UWI, St. Augustine. She is an Associate Senior Fellow of SALISES, having been full time faculty at SALISES, St. Augustine. She currently lectures in the SRC’s flagship Masters in International Trade Policy (MITP) programme, in the areas of competition law and international trade, and in the LLM programme at the Law Faculty, Cave Hill, in the elective, Competition Law in a Globalized Economy.
