Ehad Ha’am magazine: “Antitrust, a burden or a shield?”.

An article in Ehad Ha'am magazine (the magazine of the Association of Public Companies), June 2014, by reporter Nissan Kovalski, under the title "Antitrust, a burden or a shield?".
The article presents a round table panel with the participation of a selection of leading lawyers in the field of antitrust in Israel, discussing the trends of increasing regulation and legislation in the capital market and the Israeli economy in recent years. The participants discuss the delicate balance between the need to promote competition and the fear of excessive government intervention and harm to the principles of a free economy. As part of the discussion, criticism is leveled at specific sectoral legislation (such as the Food Law and the Books Law), which increases the power of the Antitrust Authority and turns it into a tool for central planning of the economy instead of a professional authority with a defined role.
The article focuses, among other things, on the position of Adv. Ronit Amir-Yaniv (at that time a partner in the Yigal Arnon law firm and today a senior partner in the international law firm Afik & Co.), who expresses deep concern about "over-legislation" and the multiplicity of position papers on behalf of the Authority, which are perceived by her and her clients as binding legislation for all intents and purposes. Adv. Amir-Yaniv points out an imbalance that harms property rights and freedom of occupation, and specifically criticizes the rigid position papers regarding due diligence between competitors and regarding the definition of an excessive price of a monopoly, which she claims are disconnected from commercial life and burden corporations. Furthermore, she warns against the amendment to the law regarding financial sanctions, which grants the Authority extensive investigative, legislative, and judicial powers, and notes that the helpful approach that was customary in the Authority in the past has almost disappeared.