THE FUTURE OF HORIZONTAL RESTRAINTS ANALYSIS

In recent years the law relating to horizontal restraints has undergone something of a silent revolution. Although the Supreme Court has not explicitly overruled previous decisions in this area, two related trends have become apparent. The first is a retreat from the application of a strict per se rule, and as a corollary, there has been a partial breakdown of the per se/rule of reason dichotomy. The second is an increasing tendency to interpret certain types of joint actions as contractual integrations, more akin to joint ventures than to cartels.