[Book review: Mateusz Błachucki, International Cooperation, Competition Authorities and Transnational Networks, Routledge, Oxford-New York: 2023, pp. 296]

Polish Yearbook of International Law 2023, t. XLIII, s. 453–455.

The book aims to clarify the legal nature of the transnational competition net-works (TCNs) that bring together national competition authorities, to establish their typology and to analyse and classify the forms of cooperation between national competition authorities within these networks. The book consists of 11 chapters, which the author himself divides into four main parts in the introduction (unfor-tunately, this division is not reflected in the table of contents). The first of these (chapter 2) introduces the reader to the concept of transnational competition networks. The second part (chapters 3–5) analyses the different types of networks, both those operating independently and those established within intergovernmental organisations at the global, continental, and regional levels. It provides a careful overview of the current state of affairs in this field, taking into account the reasons for the establishment of each network, its internal organisation, membership, field of activity, and its various forms. In the extensive third part (chapters 6–8), the au-thor classifies the forms of cooperation between national competition authorities within supranational networks. This part of the work, which is perhaps the most comprehensive, appears to be particularly valuable for practitioners, who may find in it arguments for protecting their clients against possible infringements of their rights in connection with the activities of public authorities within such networks. Błachucki divides the forms of cooperation of transnational networks into three categories: soft, developed, and enhanced; depending on the level of cooperation and the involvement of national authorities in the activities of a given network. As he points out, soft cooperation involves the exchange of experience and administrative practices, the establishment of common standards of action, and their coordination through the use of soft law instruments such as guidelines or recommendations, as well as the verification of compliance with the standards adopted by the network. Developed cooperation is more advanced and includes, inter alia, the exchange of information on the initiation of proceedings, of classified information and of in-formation and evidence to which the parties have consented, as well as mutual legal assistance. Finally, enhanced cooperation consists of the joint conduct of adminis-trative proceedings and determination of the content of administrative decisions, and also the mutual recognition of administrative acts. The fourth part of the book (Chapters 9–11), which may be of most interest to non-lawyers, discusses issues related to the supervision of the activities of transnational competition networks and the prospects for the development of these networks, including the associated benefits and challenges. It also presents the conclusions of the overall analysis.

[Recenzja: Mateusz Błachucki, Ponadnarodowe sieci organów administracji publicznej oraz ich wpływ na krajowy porządek prawny (na przykładzie ponadnarodowych sieci organów ochrony konkurencji), Warszawa 2019, s. 688]

Europejski Przegląd Sądowy 2019, nr 10, s. 55-57.

Autor porusza kwestię ponadnarodowych sieci organów administracji publicznej oraz ich wpływu na krajowy porządek prawny.