Enforcement

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition, Enforcement, Europe, European Union, Investigations, Leniency, Policy

(WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr, Poland)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 June 2014, the Polish Parliament adopted a significant set of amendments to the Polish Competition Law Act (the “Act”). Having received Presidential approval on 30 June 2014, the amended Act is now waiting for publication. The changes are expected to come into force relatively soon. The amendments will take effect 6 months after…

Antitrust, Competition, Consumer welfare, Dominance, Enforcement

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

I. INTRODUCTION Perhaps more than ever, tensions between suppliers and retailers have become the defining feature of the grocery industry worldwide. These tensions have also frequently formed the basis for interventions (or proposed interventions) by competition enforcement authorities in this sector. Canada is no exception to this global trend. The Canadian retail grocery industry is…

Antitrust, Competition, Consumer welfare, Enforcement, Europe, European Commission, European Union, Policy, United States of America

(College of Europe, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The proceedings brought by the European Commission against Google are nearing a – provisional – end with the prospect of a decision making binding on Google a revised set of commitments (see here for the Commission statement and here for the full text of the proposed commitments). Independently of their merits in addressing the Commission’s…

Antitrust, Competition, Consumer welfare, Dominance, Enforcement, Policy

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

On February 11, 2014, the Canadian government included in its federal budget a proposed amendment to the Competition Act to prohibit unjustified price discrimination to reduce the gap between consumer prices in Canada and the United States. The Minister of Finance made clear that the Commissioner of Competition, the head of Canada’s Competition Bureau, would…

Antitrust, Competition, Court of Appeal, Dominance, Enforcement, Market definition, Policy

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

On February 3, 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the Competition Tribunal’s 2013 decision dismissing the Commissioner of Competition’s abuse of dominance allegations against the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and referred the case back to the Tribunal. In so doing, the Court held that the Competition Act’s abuse of dominance provisions could potentially…

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition, Dominance, Enforcement, Investigations, Leniency, Market definition, Mergers, Policy

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

In our annual forecast of the year ahead for Canadian competition and foreign investment review law, the Davies Competition Law and Foreign Investment Group outlines the “Top 10” key issues and trends to watch for this year. 1. A Green Light for Class Actions by Indirect Purchasers The Supreme Court of Canada issued an important…

Antitrust, Competition, Enforcement, Investigations

(Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

In a move that signals that UK criminal cartel enforcement is set to increase, Peter Nigel Snee appeared on 27 January 2014 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face charges under the UK’s criminal cartel offence. Mr Snee has been charged under section 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002 with “dishonestly agreeing with others to divide…

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition, Enforcement, Germany, Investigations

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

On December 23, 2103, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published an explanatory note on settlement proceedings in antitrust cases on its website. Since 2007, the FCO has increasingly terminated cases through settlements, so the note came rather late. Unlike the European Commission, the FCO has entered into settlement agreements without a specific regulatory basis and…

Antitrust, Enforcement, General, Policy

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

THE FOLLOWING CHECKLIST WAS AUTHORED BY LYUDMILA (LUDA) NAPOE, SENIOR COUNSEL, WM. WRIGLEY JR. COMPANY AND ERIKA DOUGLAS, DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS & VINEBERG LLP. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS AND NOT OF THEIR RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS. *********************************** Canada’s Competition Bureau, like other competition enforcement agencies, identifies “compliance audits” as one of…

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition, Enforcement, Investigations

(Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /1 Comment

Here is an item that I co-wrote with my colleague Stephane Eljarrat. ************************ When investigating cartel violations in Canada, the Competition Bureau’s tool of choice is the “search and seizure” (the Canadian equivalent of the “dawn raid” in Europe). The Bureau execises its search and seizure powers pursuant to judicially authorized warrants which it must…