This case is of interest because it is the first in which an Irish court has considered the operation of the EC modernisation regime introduced by Regulation 1/2003. The court's analysis of the substantive issues is also of interest, particularly for trade associations which may be considered to be dominant in the market for 'representative services' they provide to their members. Whether the High Court's analysis of this issue will be upheld when the Supreme Court comes to hear the appeal remains to be seen. Gerald FitzGerald McCann FitzGerald Dublin

Any business that has an agreement with another at a different level of the production and distribution chain, which may affect trade within the UK (a 'vertical agreement') and which does not fix prices or represent an abuse of a dominant position, is currently likely to benefit from an exclusion under the Competition Act 1998 (ie it does not breach Chapter I of the Act which prohibits anticompetitive agreements). However, in response to the modernisation of EC competition law, the UK government has announced the repeal of this exclusion. Accordingly, until 1 May 2005, when the repeal takes effect, businesses have the opportunity to review any existing UK vertical agreements to ensure they are not in breach of the Act. This will involve considering the applicability of the EC Block Exemption and relevant guidance. Alison Baker Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer London

A gap between the views of the private bar and those of the ICA on the function of a competition authority is causing tension in Ireland. PHILIPPA WARD looks at both points of view

Dr John Fingleton, chairperson of the Irish Competition Authority, discusses the first steps of an agency that he considers to be still in its infancy

Ireland’s Authority is at the centre of European competition. Is the same true of its lawyers? PHILIPPA WARD went to Dublin to find out

The recent judgments of the Competition Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal in IBA Health have given hope to potential third-party challengers.Alison Jones Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer London

Former Oftel head of legal, Sebastian Farr, is to be given the senior legal role at Ireland’s telecoms regulator the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).