India, Pricing

(Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, India)/ /Leave a comment

One of the most important issues which are being investigated by the CCI is the treatment of vertical agreements. In one of my earlier posts (http://kluwercompetitionlawblog.com/2015/06/28/competition-commission-of-india-initiates-investigation-in-relation-to-resale-price-maintenance-impact-on-business-operations/), it was shown how the CCI is referring certain cases for further investigation, the outcome of which will certain change the landscape in which business is run in India….

Antitrust

(Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

Hong Kong’s first cross-sector competition law – the Competition Ordinance (“Ordinance”) – finally came into full force on 14 December 2015. The Ordinance became law in June 2012, initially bringing into effect only the provisions allowing for the regulatory framework to be put into place.  Over the two and a half years run up to…

Cartels

(Schellenberg Wittmer )/ /Leave a comment

On January 6, 2016, the Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (the investigative body of the Swiss Competition Commission; the “Secretariat”) issued a “Notice on investigation instruments“, i.e. on the conduct of dawn raids, seizing of evidence, and interviews (the “Notice”). The 12-page Notice replaces an earlier notice, which mainly described the process of dawn…

Enforcement, European Commission

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

11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE GLOBAL COMPETITION LAW CENTER Monday-Tuesday, February 1-2, 2015 from 9:00 AM onwards THE NOTION OF RESTRICTION OF COMPETITION: REVISITING THE FOUNDATIONS OF ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT IN EUROPE Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Bernard Amory, Christopher Bellamy, Yves Botteman, Cristina Caffarra, Avantika Chowdhury, Miranda Cole, Raphaël De Coninck, Carles Esteva-Mosso, Luc Gyselen, James Killick,…

Belgium, Mergers

(Simmons & Simmons) and / /Leave a comment

A seller that failed to provide requested information to the Belgian Competition Authority (‘BCA’) on time in a merger control investigation has been fined €50,000 for obstruction.  Beyond the particulars of the case the decision provides more general guidance on the different types of procedural infringements which can give rise to fines under the Belgian…

Antitrust

(Baker & McKenzie LLP) and (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

While higher concentration/oligopoly should not lead in itself to greater problems, the reality is that agencies may be more suspicious; extra laws may apply; and complaints might be more likely. This blog post sets out the things that companies can do to preserve their commercial freedom and freedom from investigation: Contacts with competitors One area…

Canada, Mergers

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

Introduction The Competition Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34 (“Competition Act”) requires that mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations that meet certain prescribed thresholds be notified to the Commissioner of Competition (“Commissioner”), the head of the federal Competition Bureau (“Bureau”), before they can be completed. A notification must be filed by each party to a notifiable…

Dominance, Germany

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

On November 18, 2015, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeal quashed the decision of the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) that supermarket chain Edeka had abused its market power vis-à-vis suppliers by requesting special terms and conditions (“t&cs”) following its acquisition of discounter Plus in 2008 (so-called “wedding rebates”).  The ruling is not yet published, only a…

European Union

(St Johns Chambers, United Kingdom)/ /Leave a comment

It is common for commercial property leases to contain restrictions on how a tenant may use the leased premises. They may, for example, restrict the ability of the tenant to sell certain types of products, by specifying permitted uses (through a ‘permitted user’ clause) or prohibited uses (through a ‘restricted user’ clause). Alternatively, restrictions may…

Antitrust, Cartels, Competition

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

“A strong and active antimonopoly authority is an incentive for undertakings to engage in prevention” – the President of the Polish Competition Authority presents his views on competition law compliance. Adam Jasser, the President of the Polish Competition Authority (UOKIK) has recently spoke to Bartosz Jagura of Viadrina Compliance Center about competition law compliance. It…