Welcome to the Academic Society for Competition Law – an association composed of scholars committed, in their scholarship, to the development of competition law, policy and the economics of competition worldwide.
ASCOLA unites several hundred researchers and scholars from all continents who focus on antitrust law, economics and policy. Members of ASCOLA usually meet once a year for a big annual conference with in-depth discussions of scholarship. ASCOLA regional chapters organise the exchange throughout the year in several jurisdictions. Here you may find more information about ASCOLA events. Please also consult our News section for most recent information.
In the Resources section, you can find our collection of teaching materials, ASCOLA books and the Declaration of Ethics to which we subscribe.
On this website we also inform you on what characterises ASCOLA, how it is organised, its history and how you can join. Members from around the world – from junior academics starting their careers to renowned legends of antitrust scholarship – enjoy the spirit of ASCOLA as a market of ideas – and a place where projects are developed and friendships forged.
Elettra Bietti is the winner of the ASCOLA Best Junior Paper Award 2025. Her paper has the title “Rawlsian Antitrust”. The jury says: “The paper Rawlsian Antitrust stands out as a work of exceptional intellectual ambition and normative sophistication. Through a bold and original philosophical reframing, the author reinterprets antitrust enforcement using the lens of …
As one of the first legal organizations to advocate for a strict, systematic approach to the disclosure of conflicts of interest, ASCOLA has been at the forefront of this issue. Since 2018, we have had a Declaration of Ethics in place on this topic. In light of recent developments, we have drafted new disclosure rules …
The international community of antitrust scholars will come together at Chicago from 26-28 June 2025. The Loyola University hosts the 20th Annual Conference of ASCOLA, the Academic Society for Competition Law, at the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies with Professor Spencer Weber Waller as the local host. Over three days, the members of ASCOLA will …
Ascola is organized as a democratic association involving a General Assembly and a Board – including an Executive Committee with the President of ASCOLA for the day-to-day-running of the association. The Assembly convenes each year. It elects the Board, including the Executive Committe, for a term of two years. ASCOLA has also asked three directors to perform special tasks. The organization is described in a Charter.
The Excecutive Committee
The Executive Committee currently includes six people who run ASCOLA on a daily basis. The ASCOLA President is Professor Rupprecht Podszun of the University of Düsseldorf (Germany). He is the Director of the Institute for Competition Law at the University. He was elected in 2023 after having served as an ASCOLA Vice-President since 2019. Before that professors Michal Gal (2016-2023), Paul Nihoul (2013-2016) and Josef Drexl (2003-2013) had served as presidents of ASCOLA.
ASCOLA has five Vice-Presidents who serve on the ASCOLA Executive Committee:
Peter Picht (Zurich), Vice President for Finances
Thomas Cheng (Hong Kong), Vice President
Magali Eben (Glasgow), Vice President
Giorgio Monti (Tilburg), Vice President
Wendy Ng (Melbourne), Vice President
The members of the 2023 Executive Committee: Rupprecht Podszun, Thomas Cheng, Magali, Peter Picht, Wendy Ng and Giorgio Monti (pictured clockwise from upper left).
The Board The Board is composed of members elected by the members of the association. The composition partly reflects the geographic coverage of the association. Elections are organized on a regular basis. For these elections members can suggest applications.
Members of the Board as elected in 2023 consist of three groups – the members of the Executive Committee, former presidents of ASCOLA, and further members. Also the organiser of the next conference is co-opted as a member.
The members of the Executive Committee:
Rupprecht Podszun Thomas Cheng Magali Eben Giorgio Monti Wendy Ng Peter Picht
Former ASCOLA Presidents:
Josef Drexl
Paul Nihoul
Michal Gal
Further members of the Board:
Zeynep Ayata (Turkey)
Mor Bakhoum (Senegal)
Fabiana Di Porto (Italy)
Valeria Falce (Italy)
Harry First (USA)
Juan David Gutierrez (Colombia)
Vikas Kathuria (India)
Wolfgang Kerber (Germany)
Ioannis Lianos (UK)
Bjorn Lundqvist (Sweden)
Francisco Marcos (Spain)
Jasminka Pecotic Kaufman (Croatia)
Danny Sokol (USA)
Masako Wakui (Japan)
Spencer Weber Waller (Chicago, USA) is co-opted as the local host of #ASCOLA2025.
Directors
Fabiana Di Porto is the ASCOLA Director responsible for the Best Junior Paper Award.
Viktoria Robertson is the ASCOLA Director for scholarships.
Jurgita Malinauskaite is the ASCOLA Director for mentoring.
The General Assembly The General Assembly consists of all members of the association. All members have a similar vote. No difference is made depending on origin of members, or the fee paid by them. As a reminder, fees are discounted for younger academics and for academics coming from lower-income regions. The General Assembly takes place in the course of annual conferences.
Are you interested in joining too? Get more information here.
Conferences & Events
Please find information about:
The next ASCOLA Conference – be a part of this fantastic community. We meet once a year to discuss papers on competition law and economics.
Past ASCOLA Conferences – see where we went to in the past and what happened during our annual highlight!
ASCOLA NOEL – the ASCOLA November Online Event Live, an online forum to discuss current developments in competition law!
