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

Section 14 of the Competition Act authorizes the Competition Commission to provide interim relief, either on its own initiative, or upon the request of the Minister for the Economy. In determining whether to award such relief, the Competition Commission considers whether an infringement of Sections 1 or 2 is probable and, if so, whether there is an urgent need to prevent imminent and irreparable d …

Interim relief

The Competition Commission may consider whether there has been an infringement of Sections 1(1) and (2) sua sponte, upon complaint, or in response to a request from the Minister of economy (Section 25).

Under Section 36, any natural person or legal entity may submit a complaint to the Competition Commission regarding an infringement of Sections 1(1) or 2.

Civil servants and employees of public undertakings are required to report such infringements if this information becomes known to them and can be fined for failing to do so (Section 36(6)). Within 12 months of the date that a complaint is lodged, the Competition Commission must issue a decision. This period can be extended by not more than two months when further investigation is required (Section 15).

In making an investigation, the Commission President or the Vice President, Director General, Director or employee of the Directorate General for Competition are entitled to obtain all necessary information by sending a written request to undertakings, associations of undertakings, public authorities or any other natural or legal persons (Section 38). Persons who are not required to supply information under Section 212 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are also exempt from the obligation to supply information under Section 25 of the Competition Act, provided certain other obligations are fulfilled.

Officials of the Directorate-General for Competition have the same investigation powers as tax inspectors (Section 39). Thus, Competition Committee officials may examine all books and records, carry out investigations in the premises of the undertaking or association, conduct house searches in conformity with Section 9 of the Constitution, and remove evidence. The President of the Competition Commission must provide written authorization to conduct an investigation, specifying the subject-matter of the investigation and penalties for failure to cooperate. The official responsible for the investigation must make a report, a copy of which must be sent to the undertakings or associations concerned. Where necessary, the assistance of the police may be sought (Section 39).

According to Section 40 of the Competition law, a new area of investigation is added, where prices or other circumstances give cause to suspect that competition is being restricted or distorted. The Competition Commission may investigate a particular sector of the economy or certain types of agreements or methods of shaping commercial behavior-  including methods using algorithms - in various sectors, provided that they fall within its responsibility.

Complaints and investigations

Where an application or complaint has been submitted to the Competition Commission, the persons who have done so have an opportunity to be heard (Section 15(9)). They may appear personally or be represented by an attorney, and must be given forty-five days advance notice of the hearing. Parties against whom a procedure before the Competition Commission has been initiated likewise have an opportunity to be heard after receiving forty-five days' notice.

Where it finds an infringement, the Competition Committee may address a decision requiring the undertakings to end the infringement, and/or imposing a fine or penalty or may require that the necessary behavioral or structural remedies be implemented to end the infringement (Section 25(1)). Within 12 months of the date that a complaint is lodged, the Competition Commission must issue a decision (Section 15). Decisions of the Competition Commission are served by the Secretariat on the persons entitled to appeal (Section 15(11)).

Pursuant to Section 25(6) of the Competition Act, where the Commission presumes, in the course of investigations carried out of its own initiative or at the request of the Minister for the Economy, that there have been infringements of Sections 1 and 2, and where the undertakings concerned offer commitments to address those competition concerns, it may, by way of decision, make the commitments binding on the undertakings and end the proceedings. Proceedings may nevertheless be reopened if the undertakings concerned fail to respect their commitments, or if there is a substantial change in the facts on which the decision was based, or if the decision was in fact based on incomplete, inaccurate or misleading information provided by interested undertakings. Competition Commission Decision No 588/2014 of 16 April 2014, defines the terms, conditions and procedure for the acceptance of commitments offered by undertakings to cease possible infringements of Sections 1 and 2 or 101 and 102 TFEU. The Commission, whose aim is to accelerate the procedure and make it more efficient, retains a wide discretionary power to decide or not to engage talks with the undertakings and evaluate and accept or decline commitments proposed by them. Commitments will be deemed to be appropriate where the competition concerns (a) are readily identifiable (b) are fully addressed by the commitments offered and no new concerns arise and (c) may be efficiently resolved within a short period of time. On the contrary, commitments will not be accepted in cases involving serious restrictions of competition and/or serious abuses of dominance. The commitments must be offered before the Commission has sent its Statement of Objections. In addition to the Commission's own assessment, they will be submitted to a public consultation, in order to address potential third party competition concerns. Finally, the Commission details the procedural steps to be followed, including the relevant time frames, as well as the terms and conditions for accepting commitments.

On 21 July 2016, Decision No 628/2016 of the Competition Commission also introduced a settlement procedure in Greek law reserved for horizontal infringements specified in Section 1 of the Competition Act as well as infringements of Article 101 TFEU. Settlement discussions may be initiated whether or not the Statement of Objections has already been issued, contrary to EU practice where they must absolutely commence before the Statement of Objections. However, where they intend to engage in a settlement after that procedural step, undertakings must make their interest known to the Competition Commission at least 35 days before the hearings and discussions will take place during the Commission's plenary session. In any case, the Competition Commission has full discretion in the assessment of whether or not a settlement is suitable in the case at issue. Where the discussions are initiated before the Statement of Objections is served, bilateral meetings are held between the case handler and the undertakings, during which the latter are presented with the facts complained of and the evidence gathered and have the possibility to make their views known. They may be invited to make a proposal which must contain an unequivocal acknowlegement of participation in the infringement and a waiver of their right to a hearing, to full access to the file and to challenge the Commission's jurisdiction. Subsequently, the case handler will issue a specific Statement of Objections which must be accepted by the undertaking. The settlement must finally be approved by the Competition Commission. It can lead to a fine reduction of up to 15% and can be combined with a leniency application.

Proceedings before the Competition Commission

Section 14 of the Competition Act authorizes the Competition Commission to provide interim relief, either on its own initiative, or upon the request of the Minister for the Economy. In determining whether to award such relief, the Competition Commission considers whether an infringement of Sections 1 or 2 is probable and, if so, whether there is an urgent need to prevent imminent and irreparable damage to the complainant or to the public interest. The Competition Commission must resolve a request for interim relief within not more than fifteen days, provided that interested parties have had an opportunity to be heard (Section 25(5)).

Under Section 35, the Greek civil courts have jurisdiction to rule on the infringement of Sections 1 and 2 of Act No 3959/2011. The rules applicable to such actions are laid down in Act No 4529/2018 of 23 March 2018, which transposed EU Directive 2014/104 on Antitrust Damages. Law No 4529/2018, which applies both to stand-alone and follow-on actions, provides for full compensation for damage caused by anticompetitive practices. The exercise of the action is enhanced by provisions easing the collection of evidence and by the institution of presumptions, in particular regarding the existence of the infringement as a result of a previous decision by a national competition authority or the European Commission, the existence of harm caused by the infringement or the passing-on of overcharges. Jurisdiction to hear damages claims lies with specialized sections of the Athens First Instance Court and the Athens Appeal Court. 

Global Competition Law

345. Interim relief

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Les notions juridiques connexes

345. Interim relief

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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