A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of the markets. And the Law in which it takes cognizance of situations having any type of impediments and distortions on the markets and correct them is the
competition law (also known as antitrust law).
In general it is a
government agency
A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...
, typically a
statutory authority, sometimes called an
economic regulator, that
regulates and enforces
competition laws and may sometimes also enforce
consumer protection laws. In addition to such agencies, there is often another body responsible for formulating
competition policy.
Many nations implement competition laws, and there is general agreement on acceptable standards of behaviour. The degree to which countries enforce their competition policy varies substantially.
Competition regulators may also regulate certain aspects of
mergers and acquisitions and
business alliances and regulate or prohibit
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mo ...
s and
monopolies. Other government agencies may have responsibilities in relation to aspects of competition law that affect
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...
(e.g., the registrar of companies).
Regulators may form supranational or international alliances like the ECN (
European Competition Network The European Competition Network (ECN) consists of the 28 competition authorities within the European Union (see below for d