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

Since the adoption of the 2009 Act, negative clearance is no longer available and undertakings are required to conduct a self-assessment of their agreements. Thus, under Section 8(3), agreements are exempted from the prohibition set in paragraph 1 where:
- they contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods and/or services, or to promoting technical or economic progress; 
- while  …

Exemptions

Article 8 of the Croatian Competition Act, which deals with “prohibited agreements”, is modeled on Article 101(1) TFEU. It prohibits all agreements whose object or effect is to distort competition in the relevant market. A non-exhaustive list of the types of prohibited agreements is provided, including agreements aimed at price fixing, limiting production, sharing markets, discriminating between undertakings and tying. Agreements are defined as “contracts, particular provisions thereof, implicit oral or explicitly written down arrangements between undertakings, concerted practices resulting from such arrangements, decisions by undertakings or associations of undertakings, general terms of business and other acts of undertakings which are or may constitute a part of these agreements and similar, notwithstanding the fact if they are concluded between undertakings operating at the same level of the production or distribution chain (horizontal agreements) or between undertakings who do not operate at the same level of the production or distribution chain (vertical agreements)”.

  Pursuant to Article 8(4), prohibited agreements, where they do not fulfill the conditions for an individual or block exemption, are void.

  Article 11 establishes a de minimis rule for restrictive agreements, the parties to which, together with their controlled undertakings as defined in Article 4, have an insignificant common market share and do not contain hardcore restrictions of competition. The conditions with which such agreements must comply and the restrictions or provisions they may not contain, as well as the market share thresholds for horizontal or vertical agreements were laid down by the Government, upon proposal of the Agency, in the Regulation on Agreements of Minor Importance (OG 9/2011).

Pursuant to Article 9 (2), the CCA has now the power to impose on the undertaking behavioral and/or structural remedies which are effective and proportionate to the infringement committed and which are necessary to bring the infringement to an end (OG 41/21). 

The prohibition

Since the adoption of the 2009 Act, negative clearance is no longer available and undertakings are required to conduct a self-assessment of their agreements. Thus, under Section 8(3), agreements are exempted from the prohibition set in paragraph 1 where:

- they contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods and/or services, or to promoting technical or economic progress; 

- while allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefit; 

- they do not impose unnecessary restrictions on the parties; and

- they do not afford the possibility of eliminating competition for a substantial part of the market concerned.

The burden of the proof that those conditions are gathered lies on the parties to the agreement. Article 10 of the Competition Act provides for the adoption of block exemption regulations by the Government, upon proposal of the Agency. Pursuant to this provision, block exemption regulations were enacted in the following sectors or areas: 

- distribution and servicing of motor vehicles (OG 37/2011)

- technology transfer agreements (OG 9/2011).

However, if the Agency finds that a particular agreement, in itself or due to the cumulative effect with other similar agreements in the relevant market, does not comply with the conditions set out in Article 8 paragraph (3), it may withdraw the application of the block exemption concerned.

However, the Revised Competition Act 2021 repealed the Regulation on block exemption granted to insurance agreements OG 78/11. 

Global Competition Law

89. Exemptions

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Les notions juridiques connexes

89. Exemptions

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