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

 The Cartel Act applies to the activities of foreign-based undertakings that have an anticompetitive effect on the Swiss market. Further, the Act applies to all anticompetitive practices in the public and private sectors. The 2003 amendments declare that, although the Act does not apply to competition effects that result from the application of legislation on intellectual property, restrictions on …

Scope

As set out by Section 96 of the 1999 Swiss Constitution, which is an exact copy of Section 31 bis of the 1947 Constitution, “1. The Confederation shall legislate to fight against economically or socially damaging effects of cartels and other restrictions of competition. 2. It shall take measures a) to prevent abuses in price fixing by enterprises and organizations of private and public law enjoying a dominant position on the market; b) against unfair competition”. Competition law in Switzerland is now governed by the Federal Act on Cartels and Other Limitations to Competition of October 6, 1995 ("the Cartel Act"), which is based on the above constitutional provisions and came into effect on 1 July 1996. The purpose of Swiss competition law is to promote competition in Switzerland by preventing the harmful effects of cartels and other anticompetitive restrictions thereby allowing the development of a more liberal and open economy. Amendments to the Cartels Act, providing for the direct imposition of fines and leniency policy, amongst other things, were adopted in June 2003 by the Swiss Parliament and entered into force on 1 April 2004. The Cartel Act was later amended in 2005, 2007 and 2008. On 17 May 2013, Switzerland and the European Union signed an agreement concerning cooperation on the application of their competition laws which entered into force in December 2014.

The Cartel Act was amended by No of the Federal Act oh 19 March 2021, in force since 1 January 2022. The Revised Act introduced a new definition “an undertaking with relative market power is an undertaking on wich other undertakings are independent for the supply of or demand for goods or services in such a way that there are no adequate and reasonable opportunities for switching to other undertakings”. 

Context

 The Cartel Act applies to the activities of foreign-based undertakings that have an anticompetitive effect on the Swiss market. Further, the Act applies to all anticompetitive practices in the public and private sectors. The 2003 amendments declare that, although the Act does not apply to competition effects that result from the application of legislation on intellectual property, restrictions on imports based on IP rights are subject to the Act (Section 3(2) of the Cartel Act).

On 6 November 2024, the Swiss Federal Council amended the ordinance on fees charged by the competition authority for its interventions under the Cartel Act. Since 1 January 2024, all proceedings conducted by the Competition Commission and its Secretariat have been billed based on the time spent, replacing the previous flat-rate fee system. This change aims to better reflect the actual costs of proceedings and to reinforce the principle of causality, under which those who initiate proceedings or request services bear the associated costs. If a case is closed without further action, the costs are borne by the State and calculated on a pro rata temporis basis.

Global Competition Law

1301. Scope

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Les notions juridiques connexes

1301. Scope

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise