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

Under Section 12, abuse of economic dependency is only prohibited where it may affect the functioning of the market or the structure of competition. Moreover, for the prohibition to apply, the victims must be able to show the absence of an equivalent alternative. Section 12 sets out that a company does not have an equivalent alternative where the supply of the goods or services, e.g. distribution, …

Abuse of economic dependency

 Pursuant to Section 11 of the Act, the abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position is prohibited.

Under a former Decree-Law of 1993, a dominant position was defined by reference to the market share of the undertaking concerned. The previous Competition Act of 2003 had changed that definition by providing that a dominant position existed where an undertaking operated in a market in which it was not exposed to significant competition or in which it had the predominant market share in relation to its competitors, or where two or more undertakings operated jointly in a market in which they were not exposed to significant competition or in which they had a predominant market share in relation to third parties (collective dominance).

The Competition Act of 2012 adopts almost the same wording as Article 102 TFEU, giving no definition of a dominant position but only examples of what an abuse can be: a) imposing prices or unfair trading conditions; b) limiting production, markets or technical development to the detriment of consumers; c) applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage; d) making the conclusion of contracts subject to acceptance by the other parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of such contracts; e) refusing access for another undertaking to a network or other essential facilities that it controls, when appropriate payment for such is available, in a situation where the other undertaking cannot therefore, in fact or in law, act as a competitor of the undertaking in a dominant position in the market, upstream or downstream.

Abuse of a dominant position

Under Section 12, abuse of economic dependency is only prohibited where it may affect the functioning of the market or the structure of competition. Moreover, for the prohibition to apply, the victims must be able to show the absence of an equivalent alternative. Section 12 sets out that a company does not have an equivalent alternative where the supply of the goods or services, e.g. distribution, is controlled by a limited number of undertakings or where the victim of the abuse cannot obtain identical conditions from other commercial partners within a reasonable time scale. Abuse may be constituted by any of the behavior described in subparagraphs a) to d) of Section 11(2) or when an undertaking without any justification terminates, totally or partially, an established commercial relationship, without due consideration being given to prior commercial relations, the recognized usage in that area of economic activity and the contractual conditions established.

Global Competition Law

574. Abuse of economic dependency

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Les notions juridiques connexes

574. Abuse of economic dependency

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