Unannounced inspections of business premises in Austria rarely occurred in the past. However, the Austrian Federal Competition Agency has clearly changed this of late. Meanwhile, it has conducted several inspections (recently, supermarkets were the focus) and has adopted a harsh approach in the conduct of searches. Legal Background Upon request by the Federal Competition Agency,…
Most favoured customer clauses have risen to increasing prominence in both leading antitrust systems over the past two years. In the European Union, this came in the form of a little noted, but potentially significant, settlement with the Hollywood majors regulating their investment in new cinema equipment. In the United States, litigation relating to most…
Ten years ago today, new rules to bolster competition law enforcement in Ireland – set out in the Competition Act 2002 – entered into force. Introducing the new law, then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, heralded “ … a more focused approach towards penalisation of anti-competitive activities, more sensible arrangements for how…
The government proposal of the new amendments to the Antitrust Act reflect practical concerns of the Czech Anitrust Office. The amendment has been passed in the first and second readings in the Lower House of the Czech Parliament in spring 2012. It may be expected to become law in the second half of this year…
Merger challenges are rare in Canada. The last contested merger case in Canada was in 2005. Typically, concerns about a prospective merger are resolved in negotiations between the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”) and the acquiring party, with some form of partial divestiture the usual remedy required. As such, it was a major development when…
On 12 June 2012, the Austrian council of ministers has adopted a proposal for an overhaul of the Austrian Cartel Act and of the Competition Act. If passed by parliament, which is likely, the amendment will become law on 1 October 2012. This post considers the proposed key changes. (Once the bill has been duly…
On April 5, 2012 the Croatian Competition Agency (“Agency”) rendered a decision rejecting a complaint against the company Prirodni Plin d.o.o. (Natural Gas Ltd – “NG”) for abuse of dominant position on the market for supply/sale of natural gas. As a curious but rather usual occurrence in Croatian business practice, the complaint was submitted by…
This post was written by Ms. Renata Leka and Mr. Erlind Kodhelaj of Boga & Associates, Tirana, Albania. The Albanian Competition Authority recently circulated for comments its new draft guidelines entitled “On the Control of Concentrations involving Undertakings” (“the Guidelines”). Key highlights Law No. 9121, dated 28.07.2003, “On the Protection of Competition” (“the Law”) requires…
In the run-up to the London Olympics, it seems particularly appropriate that the competition theme of the moment is all about fighting. Take Spain, for instance. The country’s antitrust authority – the Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (CNC) – has recently started legal proceedings against a bunch of matadors and a sports marketing rights consultancy…
Stanford University Press has just released the first volume of a series on Global Competition Law and Economics, entitled “The Global Limits of Competition Law” (I. Lianos & D. Sokol, eds). This first volume contains a wealth of ideas on how law, economics and institutions respond to an increasingly global and interconnected antitrust community. It…
