Les restrictions verticales

Vertical restraints can be defined as relations which involve restrictive elements in respect of competition and take place between two or more undertakings operating at different levels of the production or distribution chain. Despite the fact that vertical restraints may have distorting, preventive or restrictive effects on competition, the opinion that they may contribute to competition positively under certain circumstances has been accepted over time. Thus, in some legal systems, vertical restraints have been granted with exemptions. In other legal systems where exemptions are not granted, vertical restraints are not prohibited directly, but instead, they are examined separately under the particular circumstances of each case. The object of our thesis is to explain the concept of a vertical restraint, to provide necessary information on the main activities which are likely to contain vertical restraints and to examine the rules and regulations which are currently in force in the United States of America, the European Union and Turkey. Keywords : Vertical Restraints, Vertical Agreements, Block Exemption, Competition Law.