Dubravka Akšamović

Dubravka Akšamović (L.L.M, PhD) is full professor and Head of Department of Business Law at Faculty of Law Osijek, Croatia. She regularly teaches several courses at undergraduate and post graduate studies: Contract Law, Company Law, Competition Law and Insolvency Law. She is a head of clinical program at Faculty of Law in Osijek and one of founders of Croatian Association for Competition Law and Policy. She holds Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in EU Competition Law. She is a co-author of two books and numerous articles, essays and chapters in books dedicated to different fields of law. She is member of several domestic and international associations, Croatian Academy of Legal Science, GAJE, ENCLE, ASCOLA. 

Juraj Beňa

Juraj Beňa became the Chairman of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic on 1 March 2023 after his appointment by the President of the Slovak Republic. He joined the Office from the telecommunications company Orange Slovensko, where he worked as a legal advisor in the field of regulation and competition law (10/2016 – 2/2023). Prior to that, he worked at the Cartels Department of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (1/2013 – 9/2016) and at law firms (9/2008 – 1/2013). He also gained experience in the field of competition law in an international environment, when he attended a traineeship as a national expert at the European Commission, Directorate General for Competition, and in this area, he also worked as a lecturer and academic. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava (9/2003 – 6/2008, Master's degree) and completed his education in international and European law at the University of Amsterdam (9/2009 – 9/2010, LL.M. degree).

Ondrej Blažo

Ondrej Blažo graduated from the Faculty of Law at Comenius University in Bratislava as well as from the Faculty of National Economy at the University of Economics in Bratislava. He is an Associate Professor in international law specializing in EU law, EU competition law, and economic integration, currently Director of the Institute of European Law, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava, and editor in chief of Bratislava Law Review. Previously he has been a senior state counsel at the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic as a case handler and at the legal and EU affairs department (co-authored several legislative documents on Slovak competition rules). He is the author and co-author of publications focused particularly on competition law, EU competition law, and EU public procurement law, including commentary on the Slovak Act on Protection Competition. His research was supported by national and international grants, including Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence "Rule of Law in the European Union", APVV "Effectivization of legal regulation of public procurement and its application in the context of EU law" (leader of the research team), APVV "Effectiveness of legal regulation of protection of economic competition in the context of its application in practice". 

Vlatka Butorac Malnar

Vlatka Butorac Malnar is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Rijeka, where she teaches Competition law and European private law to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She is the president of the Croatian Competition Law and Policy Association, a non-governmental advisor for the ICN, a member of ICC, the scientific board of Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies and a member of the International advisory board of Legal Yearbook IPP-PF. She holds the LL.M and S.J.D. degrees from the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. Over the years, she researched in a number of academic institutions (Cornell Law School, NY, USA; Max-Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, Germany, European University Institute, Florence, Italy). Her work in the area of competition has been published by a some of most renown international publishers. She is engaged in educational and advisory activities for legal practitioners. 

María Pilar Canedo

María Pilar Canedo joined the School of Law of the University of Deusto in 1998. She obtained her doctoral degree with Honors in European competition law at the University of Deusto in cooperation with the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid. She is Professor of Private International Law and International Trade at Deusto University and was Visiting Professor at European, American and Asian Universities. She holds a Jean Monnet Chair in Transnational Trade Law and has been recognized three "research periods" ('sexenios') by the Spanish CNEAI (2002-2007), (2008-2015) and (2016-2021). She is on leave at the University as Member of the Board of the Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition since July 2017. From 2010 to 2017 she was a member and the President of the Basque Antitrust Authority. In June 2023, she will begin directing the RCC-GVH as senior expert of Competition of the OECD. 

Zsuzsa Cserhalmi

Zsuzsa Cserhalmi is a competition lawyer specialising in antitrust and merger control with nearly 20 years of experience in the European Commission's Competition Directorate General. As Deputy Head of the Unit in charge of the European Competition Network and private enforcement, she is leading the teams responsible for the ECN+ and Damages Directives and the team assessing envisaged decisions of national competition authorities. She is also in charge of coordinating the contribution of the Competition Directorate General to several preliminary rulings. Previously, Zsuzsa was responsible for several antitrust and merger investigations in the digital, consumer goods, basic industries, manufacturing and food sectors. She also contributed to the preparation and negotiation of the Digital Markets Act and was in charge of the e-commerce sector inquiry. Before that she worked in the European Commission's Internal Market Directorate General providing legal advice on the implementation of internal market rules. Zsuzsa holds a Master's Degree in EU Law from the College of Europe in Bruges and a DES en Droit Européen from the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

Tamara Ćapeta

Ms Tamara Ćapeta is Advocate General at the Court of Justice as of 7 October 2021. Before becoming a member of the Court, she pursued an academic career as professor of EU law at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law. She was Head of the EU Law department as well as of the postgraduate programmes in European law. She was also an academic coordinator of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence “EU Global Leadership in the Rule of Law”. Ms Ćapeta has participated in numerous international research projects and published extensively on different topics of EU law.

Jean-Louis Dupont

Jean-Louis Dupont holds a law degree from the University of Liège and a special  degree in European Union law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He practises European law, particularly in the field of professional sport, in which he has advised most stakeholders: clubs, players, leagues, federations, players unions, agents, sponsors, media rights holders, etc.. In this sector, he led or contributed to the proceedings that resulted in the following judgments:  Bosman (C-415/93), Meca-Medina and Majcen (C-519/04), Royal Antwerp FC (C-680/21), European Super League (C-333/21) and Lassana Diarra v FIFA (C-650/22). He is also representing RFC Seraing in case C-600/23, against FIFA, in which Advocate General CAPETA delivered her opinion on 16 January 2025. This case is about the compatibility of the forced arbitration (to CAS) imposed by the FIFA statutes with the EU general principle of effective judicial review.

Renato Ferrandi

Renato is the Director for International and EU Affairs of the Italian Competition Authority. He represents the Authority in international fora (including ICN, OECD, UNCTAD and G7 Competition Summit), manages bilateral cooperation projects and participates as speaker in international exchanges and capacity building projects. Renato has more than twenty years of experience on competition and consumer protection. He was case manager of numerous investigations at the Italian Competition Authority, carried out several market studies and drafted formal opinions addressed to the Government or the Parliament. Between May 2019 and January 2023, he worked at the OECD as the Head of the Regional Competition Centre for policy advice and capacity-building in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He was also a Seconded National Expert at the DG COMP of the European Commission for three years, between 2010 and 2013. He worked inter alia on the Ebooks case, on a State infringement case regarding digital TV spectrum in Italy, and on the assignment of premium sports rights in Europe.

Michal Gal

Michal Gal (LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D., Hon. Dr.) is Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, Israel, and was, until July 2023, the President of the International Academic Society for Competition Law Scholars (ASCOLA), comprising of more than 600 competition researchers worldwide. She was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Georgetown, Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and Bocconi. Prof. Gal is the author of  several books, including  Competition Policy for Small Market Economies  (Harvard University Press, 2003). She also published numerous scholarly articles in leading journals, iand has won numerous prizes for her research and for her teaching. Inter alia, her paper, "Patent Challenge Clauses: A New Antitrust Offense?" (with Alan Miller) won the Jerry  S. Cohen Medal, given by the American Antitrust Institute, for best antitrust paper published in 2017. In 2019 she won the highest award given by the University of Haifa, for Best Senior Researcher. In October 2022 she was chosen by Global Competition Review as one of 25 most influential competition academics  (law or economics) in the world. In April 2024 she received a Honorary Doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.Michal Gal (LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D., Hon. Dr.) is Professor and Director of the Center for Law and Technology at the Faculty of Law, University of Haifa, Israel, and was, until recently, the President of the International Academic Society for Competition Law Scholars (ASCOLA), comprising of more than 600 competition researchers worldwide. She was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Georgetown, Melbourne, National University of Singapore, and Bocconi. Prof. Gal is the author of  several books, including  Competition Policy for Small Market Economies  (Harvard University Press, 2003). She also published numerous scholarly articles in leading journals, iand has won numerous prizes for her research and for her teaching. Inter alia, her paper, "Patent Challenge Clauses: A New Antitrust Offense?" (with Alan Miller) won the Jerry  S. Cohen Medal, given by the American Antitrust Institute, for best antitrust paper published in 2017. In 2019 she won the highest award given by the University of Haifa, for Best Senior Researcher. In October 2022 she was chosen by Global Competition Review as one of 25 most influential competition academics  (law or economics) in the world. In April 2024 she received a Honorary Doctorate (Doctor Honoris Causa) from the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

Robby Houben

Robby Houben is a professor of sports law & business at the University of Antwerp. Robby Houben edited the Research Handbook on the Law of Professional Football Clubs (Edward Elgar, 2023) He is the founder of Football College, a University spin-off dedicated to promoting good governance in football

Mirta Kapural

Mirta Kapural is the president of the Competition Council of Croatian Competition Agency since 1 October 2021. Prior, she was a member of the Competition Council and deputy Head of International and European Department. She is a lawyer by profession with PhD in Company law and Competition law (University of Zagreb) and Master in European studies (University of Sussex). Ms Kapural is an author of many expert articles in Competition Law and regular lecturer of Competition law at universities and conferences and she has been engaged as an expert for competition law in different EU funded projects. 

Mario Krka

Mario Krka is a senior partner at Divjak, Topić, Bahtijarević & Krka law firm from Zagreb. He graduated from Zagreb Law School and holds Master of Law and Business degree from Bucerius Law School, Hamburg, and Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany. He is the head of the firm’s competition department, with many years of experience in all segments of competition law. Mario successfully represented major clients from a range of industries, in merger clearance proceedings as well as in antitrust matters, before the Croatian Competition Agency as well as the High Administrative Court. Mario is also very active in mergers and acquisitions, and corporate and commercial legal areas. He was a member of the Croatian task force on the transposition of the EU Damages Directive, and is a co-author of the recently published book “Ugovori o distribuciji, EU- Hrvatska” (1st edition, Zagreb, Narodne novine, 2022, with F. Wijckmans and F. Tuytschaever). 

Marijana Liszt

Marijana Liszt LL.M. (Carlos III de Madrid) is the founder and driving force of the boutique law firm Liszt & Partners from Zagreb renowned for its specialisation in State aid and competition law. Marijana has been a practicing attorney since 2002. After graduating from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and obtaining a Master’s degree in EU law from the University Carlos III of Madrid, she completed a Master’s program in EU law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, focusing on State aid law. In 2005, she was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia as Head of the working group on Chapter 8 – Competition and served in that position until the closing of the negotiations in 2011. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Faculty of Law of the University of Rijeka, working on a thesis in the topic of State aid law, in particular the framework for services of general economic interest. She is also a co-author of a university course book on Competition and State aid law and an author of numerous expert articles relating to competition, State aid or sports law published in Croatia and in the EU, as well as a guest lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zagreb and University of Rijeka. Marijana has vast experience as a State aid expert and consultant in the region and has been providing specialised consulting services throughout Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, etc. She holds the esteemed position of National Rapporteur for EStAL Quarterly, a leading pan-European publication for State aid law. After years of practice, she has emerged as a force to be reckoned with as Liszt & Partners continues to shape the legal landscape skilfully merging theory with practise in the area of State aid and competition law.

Ivan Luetić

Ivan Luetić is an attorney admitted to the bar in both New York and Croatia. He has extensive experience in international legal practice, having worked at one of the largest American law firms in London and a prestigious international law firm in Croatia. His expertise spans competition law, capital markets, M&A transactions, and corporate and commercial law. During his time as a U.S. attorney in London, Ivan advised major global investment banks and multinational corporations on capital markets and M&A transactions. In Croatia, he has counseled clients across retail and food, media and telecommunications, and other regulated industries. Ivan holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School.

Mislav Mataija

Mislav Mataija, LLM (Columbia), PhD (EUI, Florence), is a member of the Legal Service of the European Commission, where he advises on EU internal market law. He has represented the European Commission in around 100 cases before the European Court of Justice and the General Court, and litigated around 30 World Trade Organization disputes on behalf of the European Union. He is also a visiting lecturer at KU Leuven. He was previously visiting professor at Columbia Law School, Sciences Po School of Public Affairs, and at the Catholic Universities of Lille and Lyon. Before starting at the European Commission, he was a lecturer at the Jean Monnet Department of European Public Law at the University of Zagreb, and worked as a researcher at the European University Institute Centre for Judicial Cooperation. He has published extensively in EU and international law, including a monograph entitled Private Regulation and the Internal Market: Sports, Legal Services, and Standard Setting in EU Economic Law, with Oxford University Press in 2016.

Andrej Matvoz

Andrej Matvoz graduated from the Faculty of Law in Maribor. He comes from an entrepreneurial family, so he started gathering work experience and building up his work ethics from young age. He started his career as a lawyer in the small municipality of Hoče-Slivnica, and continued later as a lawyer at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology as a custodian of contracts within the EU public tenders for co-financing companies. During this time, he also started his own entrepreneurial path, where he gained experience in the field of law as an independent legal advisor. He began his term as director of the Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for the Protection of Competition in 2015, where he headed the agency until July 2017 as acting director, and from 1 July 2017 as director with a full five-year term. His first term ended in july 2022. At the beginning of the 2023, he was appointed head for another 5-year period.  In recent years, as an expert in the field of competition law, he regularly attends public consultations, workshops and seminars in the specific field, both at home and abroad. During his mandate as director of AVK, among other regular activities of the agency, he also strengthened and actively participated in the field of Public Procurement and Protection of Public Interest within AVK, reorganized and accelerated decision-making processes, and introduced many good practices in the field of competition protection. He also strongly advocates a renewal of the legal framework in the context of the new competition law to make it easier, faster and more effective to enforce and protect competition in the economic area of Slovenia. 

Nikolina Moslavac

Nikolina Moslavac, dipl.iur., Head of Mergers Department at the Croatian Competition Agency (CCA), has passed the bar exam and completed additional professional training in accounting, earning the title of independent accountant. She has a diverse range of work experience, including private entrepreneurship, judiciary, and her current role at the CCA. This broad professional background has given her a comprehensive approach to her true passion: competition law. More than twenty years ago, she joined the CCA as a Junior Advisor and discovered that competition law encompasses all aspects of the economy - law, economics, business strategy, and more - ensuring that there is little chance of routine or boredom. Over her 20 years at the CCA, she has served as a case handler and supervisor in all areas of competition law, ultimately specialising in her greatest passion: mergers. 

Ana Pavlaković Skočić

Ana Pavlaković Skočić, dipl.oec. univ.spec.oec., Senior Advisor, Mergers Department, holds an M.S. in Economics from Faculty of Economics in Zagreb and is currently employed by the Croatian Competition Agency. She has been at the CCA for over 20 years, more than half of which within the Mergers Department. During that time, she has completed a Postgraduate Course on European Studies at the European Research Institute, University of Birmingham, she has had work experience in DG Competition in the European Commission, participated as an expert on an EU funded project in Montenegro during 2018 and 2019 and again in 2023-2025. She is one of the most senior economists in CCA, and a right-hand person to the Head of Mergers Department, according to the Head herself, where she acts as a case handler in charge of economic analysis on most complex cases.

Jasminka Pecotić Kaufman

Jasminka Pecotić Kaufman is a Professor of Law at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business, and a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI) – Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Her research focuses on the challenges of enforcing competition rules in European post-socialist countries. Prof. Pecotić Kaufman’s scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Antitrust Enforcement, the World Competition Law and Economics Review, the Review of Central and East European Law and the Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies. She has been a Jean Monnet Fellow and a Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the EUI. Prof. Pecotić Kaufman serves on the ASCOLA Board and co-chairs its Southeast Europe chapter. She is the President of the Croatian Competition Law and Policy Association (HDPPTN) and the founder of the Šoljan Competition Law and Policy Conference series.

Nicolas Petit

Nicolas Petit has been appointed as a full-time Chair in the Department since January 2024. Previously, he held the Joint Chair in Competition Law at the Department of Law and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies until December 2023. In addition to his current role, he is also a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges. Nicolas Petit, a former full Professor at the University of Liege and holder of a PhD from there, will be taking special leave to join EUI. He has previously worked as an assessor with the Belgian competition authority and in private practice for a prominent US law firm based in Brussels. He was also a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School in 2005, a visiting fellow at Stanford University Hoover Institution in 2020, and served on the European Commission High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence from 2017 to 2020. In 2022, he co-founded the Dynamic Competition Initiative (“DCI”) with the UC Berkeley.

Siniša Petrović

Siniša Petrović, Ph.D. Tenured professor of law at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Law. Author of numerous papers in the fields of commercial law, company law, competition law, sports law, and international business transactions. TAS-CAS arbitrator. His previous engagement include inter alia, legal counsellor to the Special envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia, on two occasions vice-dean of the Faculty of Law University of Zagreb, member and vice-president of the Croatian Competition Council, member of the negotiating team for negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the EU, special advisor to the Prime minister for European law.

Sanja Sever Mališ

Professor Sanja Sever Mališ, PhD serves as a Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business - University of Zagreb, a triple crown institution (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA) from 2022. As dean, she serves as a member of peer review teams for accreditation business school institutions (EQUIS). Her research and professional interests include accounting, auditing and fraudulent financial reporting. She has written more than 70 articles in international scientific journals, international conference proceedings, and national professional journals. She participated in advanced training at several scientific and professional workshops in the country and abroad and teaches courses related to her field of interest. She is a co-author of university and scientific books. Among others, she is the co-author of university textbooks and books Accounting I - Accounting for Non-accountants, Analysis of Financial Statements - principles - procedures – cases, Auditing: A Supervisory Mechanism of Corporate Governance and State Audit. She received the Mijo Mirković Award in 2008 for the book “Analysis of Financial Statements” for a direct scientific contribution, in 2021 Faculty of Economics and Business - Zagreb Award for the university textbook “Auditing: A Supervisory Mechanism of Corporate Governance”, as well as an award from the Croatian Association of Accountants and Financial Experts for the successful defense of her doctoral dissertation. She is a Certified Internal Auditor.

Vanja Smokvina

Vanja Smokvina an Associate Professor of sports law, sports diplomacy, labour and social security law at the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Law (Croatia). He is the Head of the Institute of Sports Law, Sports Policies and Sports Diplomacy and holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Sports Law, Policy & Diplomacy (2022-2025). Vanja is also an Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (Switzerland) and member of the Scientific Committee of the UEFA Football Law Programme.

Alexandr Svetlicinii

Alexandr Svetlicinii is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Macau, where he also serves as Programme Coordinator for the Master of International Business Law in English Language and Academic Staff Advisor at the Centre for Teaching and Learning Enhancement. His focus research areas are in the fields of competition law and international economic law, including commercial dispute settlement. Prof. Svetlicinii currently serves as co-director of the South East Europe chapter of the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA). His recent monograph Chinese State Owned Enterprises and EU Merger Control (Routledge, 2021) discusses regulatory challenges faced by the competition authorities in the assessment of economic concentrations involving state owned enterprises.