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

According to Article 19 of the Act, proceedings commence either on the basis of a written notification by a person or on the Office’s own initiative.

The Office is vested with broad investigatory powers. It may request the undertaking, or any other legal entity or natural person, to provide any information or documents it deems necessary, as well as sworn translations thereof into Slovak (Article …

Complaints and investigations

According to Article 19 of the Act, proceedings commence either on the basis of a written notification by a person or on the Office’s own initiative.

The Office is vested with broad investigatory powers. It may request the undertaking, or any other legal entity or natural person, to provide any information or documents it deems necessary, as well as sworn translations thereof into Slovak (Article 16(3)). The Office may also interview any such entity, which is legally obliged to make a designated employee available for the interview. The interview may be recorded (Article 16(4)).

Under Article 17(1), the Office is entitled to carry out unannounced inspections in all premises and means of transport of the undertaking related to the activities under investigation. To that end, prior authorisation must be issued by the Vice-Chairman of the Office, stating the subject of the inspection and the names of the officials designated to conduct it (Article 17(2)). During the inspection, the officials must draw up minutes of the inspection, which must be signed at the end of the operation (Article 17(4)). In turn, the officials are entitled to :

- seal documents or media on which information is recorded, as well as premises and their equipment, including means of transport, for the period and to the extent necessary for the inspection ;

- take away documents and media on which information is recorded for the purpose of making copies or accessing the information if the Office is unable to do so during the inspection for technical reasons ;

- gain access to the undertaking’s premises and means of transport, open closed premises and their equipment or otherwise gain access to the supporting documents and media where the information is stored ;

- access information stored in electronic form on the undertaking’s data storage, or to which the undertaking has access in connection with its activity, including information stored on the data storage of other entities (Article 17(5)) ;

- make copies of any information in paper form, as well as all computer data and supporting documents stored in electronic form on a data carrier (Article 17(6)).

Conversely, undertakings must allow access to their premises and means of transport, cooperate with the officials of the Office, provide the necessary assistance for the conduct of the inspection, allow their employees to provide explanations and submit information and supporting documents, ensure access to all supporting documents, information and data in electronic form, and ensure that any seals affixed remain intact (Article 17(7)).

Are considered parties to the proceedings natural or legal persons that are either (1) responsible for involvement in the agreement restricting competition, in an activity or conduct constituting the abuse of a dominant position, or (2) whose rights, legally protected interests or obligations established by the Act are to be decided (Article 20(1)).

A party shall be instructed by the Office on its procedural rights, unless represented by a lawyer (Article 20(7)). The Office must inform the parties once the investigation is concluded (Article 26). Before issuing a decision in a matter, the Office must hear the comments of the parties concerning the statement of objections addressed to them (Article 26). In addition, parties have the right to inspect documents and make copies from the Office’s file (Article 54(1)).

The Office is empowered to join separate matters into common proceedings where the subject matter or the parties are the same (Article 22). If third parties demonstrate a legitimate interest in a matter, the Office gives them the opportunity to be heard (Article 21).

The action of the Office is bound by statutory deadlines. The Office shall decide on a matter no later than three years from the commencement of the proceedings (Article 28). Proceedings may be terminated by the Office’s decision to accept commitments from an undertaking to remove the restriction of competition (Article 33). The Office also has the option to hold settlement negotiations with an undertaking in respect of which it has evidence establishing a violation of the Act or of Articles 101 or 102 TFEU. If the party admits its participation in the violation and assumes responsibility for it, the Office reduces the amount of the fine (Article 52).

Proceedings before the Antimonopoly Office

The Act contains no specific provision the victim of anticompetitive practices to claim interim relief from the Antimonopoly Office. 

Interim relief

Actions brought before the courts by plaintiffs seeking compensation for damages resulting from a violation of national or EU competition law are governed by Act No. 350/2016 of 29 November 2016, which transposed Directive 2014/104 on damages actions into national law (the “Damages Act”). The Damages Act provides for full compensation, as it covers actual loss, loss of profit and interest for late payment (Article 3(2)). However, an action for damages may not lead to overcompensation, in particular through the award of punitive damages. Unless proven otherwise by the defendant, there is a presumption that a cartel causes harm (Article 3(3)).

National courts are bound by a final decision of the Antimonopoly Office as regards its findings on the infringement, whereas decisions of the competition authorities of other Member States constitute only prima facie evidence of an infringement, pursuant to Article 4. The limitation period is five years from the termination of the infringement and from the time when the victim became aware of (i) the anticompetitive nature of the practice, (ii) the harm caused, and (iii) the identity of the infringer (Article 5). The limitation period is shorter for leniency applicants, as Article 6(7) reduces it to one year. Furthermore, the limitation period may be suspended where the Office conducts investigations or proceedings in respect of the infringement to which the action for damages relates.

Article 6 of the Damages Act establishes the principle of joint and several liability in the case of multiple infringers. However, leniency beneficiaries may not be ordered to pay more than the amount of the damage caused to their direct or indirect customers or suppliers. SMEs also incur limited liability where their market share is below 5% and the application of the rules would threaten their economic viability or cause their assets to lose all value (Article 6(5)). These special rules do not apply if the SME initiated the cartel, forced others to join it, or is a repeat infringer (Article 6(6)).

The passing-on defence is recognised, but the defendant’s allegations must be substantiated (Article 8). Indirect purchasers are in a better position, as they benefit from a rebuttable presumption that the overcharge resulting from the infringement has been passed on to them (Article 9).

Lastly, the Damages Act provides enhanced access to evidence held by the claimant or the defendant and, under certain conditions and as a last resort, to the file of the Antimonopoly Office. Statements made by a leniency applicant or submissions made in the context of a settlement procedure may never be disclosed, whereas access to other information may be granted only once the proceedings before the Office have been closed.

Global Competition Law

636. Complaints and investigations

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Les notions juridiques connexes

636. Complaints and investigations

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