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

Behavior by undertakings contrary to the provisions of the Competition Act was subject to penalties which were criminal in nature. Prior to the 2011 Act, the Commission for Fair Trading could declare acts to be illegal but only the criminal courts could impose fines. Under the 2011 amendments criminal fines were replaced by administrative fines imposed by the Director General himself. However, two …

Penalties

Since 2019, the Civil Court (Commercial Section) may issue, with its judgment, a cease and desist order whereby the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned, as the case may be, is ordered to cease and desist from participating in such agreement, decision, practice, or conduct, and, or a compliance order setting behavioral or structural remedies addressed to the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned for the purpose of bringing the infringement to an immediate and effective end. Any behavioral or structural remedies set out in a compliance order must be proportionate to the infringement committed and necessary to bring the infringement effectively to an end. However, structural remedies may be imposed only where there is no equally effective behavioral remedy or where any equally effective behavioral remedy would be more burdensome for the undertaking concerned than the structural remedy.

Cease and desist orders

Behavior by undertakings contrary to the provisions of the Competition Act was subject to penalties which were criminal in nature. Prior to the 2011 Act, the Commission for Fair Trading could declare acts to be illegal but only the criminal courts could impose fines. Under the 2011 amendments criminal fines were replaced by administrative fines imposed by the Director General himself. However, two rulings of the Maltese Constitutional Court handed down in 2016 and 2018 deemed that even the administrative fines were criminal in nature. Therefore, amendments were brought to the Competition Act in May 2019 to revert back to the previous situation: the Office for Competition may no longer impose fines, but may refer the case to a Civil Court (Commercial Section) which will.  

The penalty imposed by the Court may be of up to 10% of the total turnover of the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned in the preceding business year. The amount of the fine must be set having regard to the gravity and duration of the infringement and to any aggravating or attenuating circumstances. 

In addition, any undertaking or association of undertakings which: fails to comply with a cease and desist order or a compliance order, fails to comply with an interim measure or with a commitment made binding, fails to supply complete and correct information pursuant to a request for information or fails to submit to an inspection may be liable to a daily penalty payment not exceeding 5% of the average daily turnover of the undertaking or association of undertakings concerned in the preceding business year for each day which the undertaking fails to comply with its obligations.

Finally, pursuant to Section 21(6), any person who in the course of any investigation or inquiry conducted under the Act, or in the course of any proceedings before the Court of Appeals knowingly or recklessly: (a) gives any false, inaccurate or misleading information; or (b) supplies incomplete information; or (c) prevents or hinders any investigation; or (d) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information which he knows to be false in any particular material; or (e) fails without reasonable cause to supply the information requested, shall be liable to the payment of an administrative fine of not less than EUR 1,500 and not more than EUR 10,000, as imposed by the Court. 

Section 26A provides for a limitation period for the imposition of penalties: (a) three years in the case of infringements of the Act concerning requests for information or the conduct of inspections; and (b) five years in the case of all other infringements. The limitation period begins to run on the day on which the infringement is committed. However, in the case of continuing or repeated infringements, it begins to run from the day on which the infringement ceases.

Global Competition Law

528. Penalties

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Les notions juridiques connexes

528. Penalties

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