Competition law (especially merger control regime) is a relatively new area of law in India, and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been tasked with the duty of its enforcement in India. Similar to most other jurisdictions, the merger control regime in India is suspensory in nature, i.e. the parties to a combination (transactions…
The ability of merging parties to properly participate in the merger review process is premised on the freedom to exchange information and discuss strategies necessary to obtain clearance (subject to all the requisite protections against gun-jumping of course). This freedom to share and exchange information and views is based on the understanding that such communications…
In February 2018, the Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde – “BWB”) introduced an electronic whistleblowing system, which allows individuals to inform the BWB about (alleged) antitrust infringements on an anonymous basis. Legal Background By amendments to the Austrian Competition Act (Wettbewerbsgesetz), which entered into force on 1 May 2017, the Austrian legislator authorised the BWB to…
Germany’s Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH) has now published its full judgment in EDEKA – wedding rebates (case KVR 3/17) on allegedly anti-competitive requests for preferential rebates and conditions by food retailers. For background on the preceding decisions of the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt – BKartA) and Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf)…
It has been just over a year since I last wrote on EU Merger Control and the Innovation Theory of Harm (the ITOH), see here. And what a year it has been. We still have no real idea what Brexit means. We still do not know who will win the World Cup this year, but…
Over the past weekend, the Chinese legislature decided on a major restructuring of governmental agencies – with a profound impact on antitrust enforcement in the country. The restructuring plan was announced by the State Council – the equivalent of China’s cabinet – on 13 March 2018 and was approved by the legislature on 17 March….
The Act on Combating the Unfair Use of Contractual Advantage in the Trade in Agricultural and Food Products (the “Act”) entered into force on July 12th, 2017. Its essential goal is to eliminate unfair market practices from every stage of the food product supply chain. The new legislation was to be (and still is) a…
In its decision passed on February 8, 2018 the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine of INR 135.86 crores (approximately $1.36 bn) on Google for abusing its dominant position by engaging in search bias vis-à-vis Google flights service and imposing unfair terms in the intermediation agreements with website owners incorporating Google’s search…
The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has launched a sector inquiry into the banking services market following their decision of 1 March 2018. The decision was triggered following a conducted overview of the current interest rates, fees and commissions published on the websites of the banks – members of the Association of Banks…
The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) has published the results of its sector-specific inquiry into display online advertising. The 125-page opinion of March 6, 2018, (“Opinion“) identifies potential competition concerns and is likely to trigger individual antitrust investigations by the FCA (and potentially other national competition authorities) in the online advertising sector. Background In May 2016,…
