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.
The Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) has elected a new President, Executive Committee and Board. For the first time, the General Assembly has established an Honorary Board with members who have served ASCOLA in a particularly dedicated way. The decisions were taken at the General Assembly in Chicago in June 2025. Peter Picht (University …
The Academic Society for Competition Law, ASCOLA, has voted on new rules on disclosure and transparency and agreed upon a revised ASCOLA Transparency and Disclosure Declaration at the Chicago 2025 General Assembly. The members agreed that the 2018 version of the Declaration needed an update, clearer rules, and recommendations for a transparency culture. At ASCOLA …
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 …
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. In 2025, ASCOLA established an Honorary Board. 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 Peter Picht of the University of Zurich (Switzerland). He was elected in 2025 after having served as an ASCOLA Vice-President for Finances. Before that professors Rupprecht Podszun (2023-2025), Michal Gal (2016-2023), Paul Nihoul (2013-2016) and Josef Drexl (2003-2013) had served as presidents of ASCOLA.
This is the ASCOLA Executive Committee as elected in 2025:
Peter Picht (Zurich), President
Thomas Cheng (Hong Kong), Vice President
Magali Eben (Glasgow), Vice President
Giorgio Monti (Tilburg), Vice President
Wendy Ng (Melbourne), Vice President for Finances
Annika Stöhr (Ilmenau), Vice President
The members of the 2025 Executive Committee: Peter Pich, Thomas Cheng, Magali Eben, Annika Stöhr, 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 2025 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:
Peter Picht (President) Thomas Cheng Magali Eben Giorgio Monti Wendy Ng (Vice-President for Finances) Annika Stöhr
Former ASCOLA Presidents:
Josef Drexl
Paul Nihoul
Michal Gal
Rupprecht Podszun
Further members of the Board (as of 2025, country and year of first election in brackets):
Zeynep Ayata (Turkey, 2023)
Mor Bakhoum (Senegal, 2023)
Maciej Bernatt (Poland, 2025)
Marco Botta (Italy, 2025)
Juliana Domingues Oliveira (Brazil, 2025)
Inge Graef (Netherlands, 2025)
Juan David Gutierrez (Colombia, 2023)
Vikas Kathuria (India, 2023)
Ioannis Lianos (UK, 2017)
Bjorn Lundqvist (Sweden, 2015)
Francisco Marcos (Spain, 2015)
John Newman (USA, 2025)
Jasminka Pecotic Kaufman (Croatia, 2023)
Masako Wakui (Japan, 2023)
Traditionally, the host of the next annual conference is co-opted to the Board. Since #ASCOLA2026 (London) is hosted by Ioannis Lianos who is a regular Board member, there is no need for this in the current term.
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.
Honorary Board
In 2025, the General Assembly decided to establish an Honorary Board to thank long-time members of the Board and former conference hosts for their long-standing commitment to ASCOLA. Membership in the Honorary Board runs for six years and is non-renewable.
The following members were elected in 2025 to the Honorary Board:
As former conference organisers:
David Bosco (Aix-en-Provence 2019)
Sofia Pais (Porto 2022)
Manos Mastromanolis & Alexandra Mikroulea (Athens 2023 – Ioannis Lianos, who was a co-organiser, serves on the Board)
Florian Bien & Björn Becker (Würzburg 2024)
Spencer Weber Waller (Chicago 2025)
As former long-time members of the Board:
Fabiana Di Porto
Valeria Falce
Harry First
Wolfgang Kerber
Danny Sokol
ASCOLA is proud to count these distinguished scholars amongst its members and thanks them for their dedication to ASCOLA!
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!
