One of the functions that trade and professional associations often perform is to help “regulate” the business conduct of their members, often through the vehicle of “codes of ethics”. When properly applied, “self-regulation” of this type can protect consumers, reduce regulatory burdens for industry members, and enhance an industry’s reputation with government bodies and the…
Last week, the Council gave itself another shot at improving the functioning of the General Court of the European Union (the ‘General Court’). And once again, it failed. Following an already disappointing episode in March 2014,[1]Note on a missed opportunity for the administration of justice across Europe. the Council again placed the equality between member…
The High Court has recently provided guidance on the application of limitation periods in competition damages actions. In Arcadia v Visa, it ruled that a substantial part of the claimant’s claim, which dated back to 1977, should be struck out for having been brought too late, so reducing the claimed damages by around £500 million….
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has recently published its draft Annual Plan for 2015/2016, its second year of operation after assuming the functions of the Competition Commission and the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) on 1 April 2014. Together with a Strategic Assessment of the risks that consumers and markets…
Co-authored by Ayman Guirguis (Partner), Jackie Mortensen (Senior Associate), Asa Lam (Lawyer) & Jessica Qiu (Lawyer). On 22 September 2014 the much anticipated Draft Report of the ‘root and branch’ review of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (Act) (Harper Review) was released. The proposed recommendations of the Harper Review panel (Panel) are…
General overview of the key merger control regimes in Canada Competition Act Canada’s Competition Act (the Act) authorises the Commissioner of Competition (the Commissioner) to challenge merger transactions that are likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially in a relevant market affecting Canada. The Commissioner heads the Competition Bureau (the Bureau) which is responsible for…
Canada’s Competition Bureau (the “Bureau”) has maintained its focus on trade and professional associations in 2014. This has involved not only various forms of prosecutions and proceedings but also initiatives in a growing part of the Bureau’s enforcement agenda: advocacy and compliance. A summary of 2014’s key developments is set out below. 1. The TREB…
In October 2014, the Commission published the result of its long-awaited food retail study. The study provides an extensive empirical analysis of the impact of bargaining power and private label on choice and innovation. However, the study suffers from a crucial shortcoming: none of the countries with high levels of retail concentration have been included…
For a few weeks now, the Czech Antitrust Office has stopped its dawn raids. The reason for this stems from the surprising decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR) dated 2 October 2014 (DELTA PEKARNY a.s., complaint number 97/11). In this case, the Czech Republic was held to have violated Art….
In March 2014, the Office of Fair Trading (“OFT”) announced that it had adopted a decision finding that a leading manufacturer of mobility scooters, Pride, had illegally prevented its dealers from advertising prices online, other than its recommended retail price (“RRP”). This followed an earlier decision, adopted in August 2013, finding a slightly different infringement…
