Statement of Objections

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a statement of issues on Thursday, July 25, raising preliminary concerns about ANZ Terminals’ proposed acquisition of GrainCorp Liquid Terminals Australia. ANZ Terminals and GrainCorp both provide port-side bulk liquid storage services in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, where they compete to store liquids including […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Marc Abenhaim, Kristina Nordlander, Stephen Spinks, Sep 16, 2015 On May 20, 2015, the General Court of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by Timab Industries  and its parent company Cie Financière et de Participations Roullier  against the European Commission’s decision fining them […]

This article is part of a Chronicle. See more from this Chronicle Martin Mollmann, Jun 16, 2014 In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights issued its widely noted Menarini judgment, stating that an administrative body may impose competition law penalties (which constitute criminal law sanctions) without infringing Article 6 ECHR, as long as the parties […]

Francesco Russo, Claudio Tesauro, Jun 28, 2013 Competition law enforcement in the European Union is based on a system of parallel competences in which the European Commission and the national competition authorities of the Member States can apply Article 101 (prohibiting anticompetitive agreements) and 102 (prohibiting abuses of dominant position) of the Treaty on the […]

Laura Atlee, May 14, 2013 Back in 2007 the European Commission (“EC”) initiated proceedings against a number of companies involved in the banana market alleging that they had been involved in a cartel. The proceedings took the normal course: Statement of Objections (“SO”) decision, then appeal to the General Court. With the whole process taking […]

Marcus Glader, Jan 07, 2011 DG Competition has recently published three draft guidance papers setting out best practices for antitrust proceedings. The aim is to enhance transparency and predictability in the Commission’s proceedings, while ensuring the efficiency of investigations into suspected competition law violations. This article focuses on the Commission’s Best Practices on the conduct […]

Marcus Glader, Apr 19, 2010 DG Competition has recently published three draft guidance papers setting out best practices for antitrust proceedings. The aim is to enhance transparency and predictability in the Commission’s proceedings, while ensuring the efficiency of investigations into suspected competition law violations. This article focuses on the Commission’s Best Practices on the conduct […]

Robert McLeod, Mar 16, 2010 With European Commission regulators coming under pressure from all sides to improve procedures and tackle allegations of not respecting due process in its investigations, the function of the oral hearings held in merger and antitrust cases and the role of the Hearing Officer who presides over them are facing particular […]

David Lawsky, Peter-Carlo Lehrell, Mar 16, 2010 Just like trials, hearing presentations are a form of competitive theater. They are the opportunity to bring your case alive, adding a dimension that cannot be portrayed in written documents alone. It is worth the parties’ time to invoke their right to a hearing, to make sure they […]

Ulrich Soltsz, Mar 16, 2010 By putting great emphasis on the oral hearing, the new Best Practices package seems to suggest that, in the Commission’s view, the hearing should be one of the cornerstones of due process in a cartel investigation. According to section 3.1.5 of the Best Practices in antitrust proceedings, the purpose of […]

James Modrall, Ruchit Patel, Mar 16, 2010 On January 6, 2010, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published for consultation three “Best Practices” documents. Two of these Best Practices documents contain provisions on the Oral Hearing, namely (1) the Guidelines on the procedures of the Hearing Officers in proceedings relating to Article 101 and 102 of […]

Stephen Kinsella, Mar 16, 2010 There are many criticisms of the oral hearing process. Indeed, there is a general growing tide of criticism of the manner in which competition law offenses in the European Union are investigated and prosecuted. It was partly in response to such concerns that on January 6, 2010 the European Commission […]