Is Fair Market Competition Regulated under Syariah Law?

Abstract

Competition law plays an extremely important role in today’s business dealings. It promotes fairness in market competition by ensuring that every player gets to compete on common and equal grounds. In achieving this, competition law regulates and controls behavioural and structural conduct of market players through enforcement of anti-monopoly prohibitions, concerted conduct laws and merger laws. While development of modern man-made competition law has been brisk, it is interesting to simultaneously look into its development under syariah law. Does syariah principles promote fair market competition and if so, how refined are these principles? This article attempts to look into these issues. Being qualitative in nature, this legal study collects relevant materials, data and information on competition law in general. These are critically assessed and analyzed by way of library research. A critical analysis is also performed on all materials pertaining to syariah principles on competition. This study finds that syariah principles do protect market competition. However these principles are not as refined as the man-made principles, let alone codified. Ultimately, this study suggests that these syariah principles need to be further refined and codified in a single written legislation. Only then would syariah law be able to efficiently and effectively regulate and control market competition in any territorial jurisdiction.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p152