The Competition Law Research Center was established in 2006 at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Since its inception, the faculty has placed particular emphasis on ensuring that the latest areas of law feature prominently in the curriculum, thus becoming a leader in competition law education. In keeping with this tradition and spirit, the research center was established to be at the forefront of competition law and competition policy research in addition to education. At the time of its establishment, we developed a complex organizational system that ensured the broad involvement of theoretical and practical experts in the activities of the research center. Almost all of the major players in modern Hungarian competition law were directly or indirectly involved in our work.
In 2026 the research centre was renamed to reflect the broader research areas and activities on digital technologies, innovation and regulation.
At the time, the research center was the only one in Central and Eastern Europe focusing on competition law and competition policy. In addition to scientific research, the research center also played an important role in organizing scientific and practical events, so when organizing international conferences, we ensured that, initially annually and then biennially, the classic areas of competition law and unfair commercial practices were given prominence. Leading competition authorities from around the world, such as the US Department of Justice, the UK Competition Authority, and the Italian, German, Austrian, French, Dutch, and even Polish competition authorities and experts, participated in the international conferences. For nearly 10 years, we have organized an annual competition law conference focusing on developments in competition law specifically in the Central and Eastern European region. Our conferences regularly feature presentations by top-level judges, regulatory experts, and leading competition law partners from major international law firms.
In addition to traditional undergraduate competition law education, we have also established specialized competition law education as part of our competition law specialist training program, and competition law has also been included in other specialist training programs. Our members have also held international and domestic judge training courses as part of our educational activities. As a result of our outstanding and persistent work, we have developed the Jean Monnet teaching module at the department within the framework of the European Commission's most prestigious education and research support program, and the Department of Environmental Law and Competition Law currently operates as a Jean Monnet Department, which is directly supported by the European Commission. Meanwhile, more than 20 research projects were conducted at the research center, including three funded by the National Scientific Research Fund, but the research center also participated in dozens of other research projects organized by other departments or universities.
In the second half of the past decade, given that its pioneering role in conferences and events was no longer necessary, as other regional and national organizations were engaged in similar activities, the research center shifted its focus to basic research in competition law and competition policy. In addition to practicality, basic research has also come to the fore, such as the role of fundamental rights, the competition law sanction system, and, most recently, research into data assets, information technology, and the behavior of large technology companies. Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon have come under fire over the past year, and competition law is one of the main regulators of the conduct of these technology companies.
Since its establishment, the Research Center has brought together the greatest legal minds of our time in this field. Without claiming to be exhaustive, our members have included György Boytha, Tihamér Tóth, and Imre Vörös, as well as Zoltán Hegymegi-Barakonyi and Gábor Fejes. In the first decade of the 2000s, the research center had nearly 40 members. Over the past five years, we have primarily strengthened our basic research, and the research center now has a smaller, more active membership.
