Global Competition Law is primarly a practitioner's guide presenting the most salient aspects of the major competition laws country by country, giving an overview of their structure and most charasteristic elements.
Global Competition Law also provides insight into possible future developments in the field.

Global Competition Law

When dealing with behavior coming within the Section 3-10 prohibition of the Competition Act, the NCA will issue a letter setting out its intention to intervene along with the facts of the case and its economic and legal assessment of the matter. The parties to the alleged anticompetitive behavior are then given a period of time within which to comment on the Competition Authority's analysis. Ther …

Proceedings before the NCA

Third parties can submit a complaint and the NCA can initiate an investigation on its own initiative.

Under Chapter 6 of the Competition Act, the NCA is given wide powers of investigation. Parties under investigation are required to give the information demanded of them either in oral or in written form. According to Section 24, the Authority may require any type of information to be handed over to it and access to sources of such information. This information must be surrendered irrespective of the duty of confidentiality. 

Pursuant to Section 25, the officers of the Authority may, subject to a court decision, carry out a dawn raid on a company's premises, employees' residences, and other places of keeping where evidence of infringement may be found.

During the dawn raid, the Authority has the power to confiscate items that may have significance as evidence for further examination, and to seal business premises, books, or business documents as long as is deemed necessary.

The Authority may demand police assistance.

The King may issue specific provisions as regards the duty to provide information and the conduct of investigations.

The June 2013 amendments, which came in force on 1 January 2014, however strengthened the protection of the rights of investigated undertakings. Now, the court order must provide more detailed information to the undertakings as regards the scope of the investigation. It must, inter alia, indicate the purpose of the raid, define the type of infringement under investigation and the relevant market. Seizure of documents will no longer automatically concern originals as was previously the case, but only where originals present a particularly important evidenciary value compared to mere copies. Where copies of electronic data are made, the amendments provide for the right of the undertaking to be present in order to allow it to discuss the possible confidential nature of the documents seized.

Complaints and investigations

When dealing with behavior coming within the Section 3-10 prohibition of the Competition Act, the NCA will issue a letter setting out its intention to intervene along with the facts of the case and its economic and legal assessment of the matter. The parties to the alleged anticompetitive behavior are then given a period of time within which to comment on the Competition Authority's analysis. Thereafter, the Competition Authority will adopt a decision as regards the anticompetitive nature of the behavior.

The 2013 amendments introduced a commitment procedure for infringements of Section 10 and 11 based on the rules contained in EU Regulation No 1/2003. The NCA may now make the commitments proposed by the undertakings binding and close the procedure.

In addition, the April 2016 amendments established a settlement procedure similar to the EU procedure in Section 29a of the Competition Act, whereby an undertaking which admits having infringed the provisions of Section 10 may receive a 10% reduction of the fine incurred.

The NCA may under certain conditions order interim measures provided that there are reasonable grounds to assume that Sections 10 or 11 or its own regulations have been infringed (Section 12).

Interim relief

  Third parties that have suffered economic loss due to a prohibited collusion between undertakings may sue the said undertakings for damages in court.

Global Competition Law

1175. Proceedings before the NCA

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Les notions juridiques connexes

1175. Proceedings before the NCA

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise