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This article presents the most important changes in substantive and procedural provisions introduced as a result of the recent amendment of the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection. These changes concern, in the first place, inspections and searches carried out by the UOKiK President. The article considers also a number of new institutions in the field of anticompetitive practices, such as managers’ liability, remedies and settlement. Discussed subsequently are changes in the provisions on practices infringing collective consumer interests, that is, the power of the UOKiK President to issue public warnings.
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This article provides a critical analysis of the latest legislative amendments concerning Polish proceedings on the control of concentrations. The Author indicates that the latest amendments to the Act on Competition and Consumers Protection did not, in fact, introduce a two-phase system of merger control proceedings (along the lines of those conducted before the European Commission and in several EU Member States). Subsequently, the Author critically evaluates the newly created institution of objections towards a concentration indicating, in particular, that it does not ensure proper protection of procedural rights of interested parties. The Author claims also that the procedure of introducing conditions, which allows the UOKiK President to clear a concentration, requires further amendments. In conclusion, the Author indicates five most important areas relating to concentration control which require urgent legislative amendments in Poland. These are: (i) the scope of concentration control (such as the exclusion of non-full-function joint ventures); (ii) cooperation with the European Commission in the scope of case referrals; (iii) protection of procedural rights of entities taking part in the concentration as well as of interested 3rd parties; (iv) the decision-making process within the competition authority (including the introduction of collective decision-making elements to the current process); (v) issues concerning extraordinary decisions stipulated in Article 20 point 2 of the Competition Act.
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This article presents the most important changes in the legal framework concerning the imposition of fines contained in the Act on Competition and Consumers Protection which came into effect on 18 January 2015. The Author examines the amendments regarding, in particular: the base used to calculate fines for substantive infringements; rules for immunity from fines and fine reductions; a new type of fine which can now be imposed on managers; as well as factors taken into account while calculating the amount of the fine. At the same time, the Author outlines which of the old problems seem to have been resolved now, and what new difficulties might emerge as a result of the new legal provisions
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The article includes an assessment of selected norms of substantive competition law from the perspective of their de lege ferenda modifications. The paper postulates are merely linguistic or structural changes, but also the introduction of some far-reaching amendments (e.g. with respect to resale price maintenance). The paper focuses on the institution of the abuse of a dominant position and on the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements.
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This article points out a series of shortcomings related to the recent amendment to the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection that came into effect on 18 January 2015. First and foremost, the article enumerates those legal mechanisms which were not (and yet should have been) included in the amendment. They include: proper guarantees of the right to be heard, amendments to administrative hearings, and legal professional privilege. The second part of the article takes a deeper look at new legal instruments introduced into the Competition Act by the amendment – the settlement procedure and financial liability of managers. The Authors list deficiencies within their scope, and make an attempt at suggesting ways to improve them by making de lege lata and de lege ferenda proposals.
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In its initial part, the article discusses the drawbacks and inconsistencies in the sanctioning system provided by the current Act on Competition and Consumers Protection (the “Act”). In the Act, pecuniary fines are expressed as a % of the turnover, as a lump-sum, or a multiplication of the average income; some are set out in PLN, others in EUR. Such an inconsistent approach may thus lead to unfair differences in the fines imposed by the UOKiK President (President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection). The paper explains also that pecuniary sanctions and their execution should be carefully balanced with other types of sanctions envisaged for antitrust violations in a given jurisdiction. In the following part of the paper, the Author anticipates possible (and required) changes in the actual execution of fines, in particular those that are promoted by the amended Act. One of the crucial issues here is the establishment of the base amount for the fine calculation. It is claimed that proportionality and fairness should make the sanctioning authority look at the income reached from the sales of the goods/services subject of the violation. The paper strives also to identify major problems surrounding sanctioning policy in antitrust enforcement in the EU and the US. Many competition authorities and legislator continue to work on designing the most effective measures possible to discourage antitrust violations, which are often repeatedly committed by the same companies. Indeed, apart from effectiveness, the fine should be fair and proportional, a consideration to which the rest of the paper is devoted. Hence, several questions arise in light of Polish jurisprudence in this area: should the fine for the same type of violation have the same reference base; should the first violation of a given type be sanctioned more leniently, or should fines for procedural actions be kept in proportion to fines for substantive violation. The paper’s purpose is not to answer these questions in an exhaustive manner but to make legislators aware of a broader context and interdependencies of their sanctioning policy in order to create effective, but also fair and proportional, enforcement of competition rules in Poland
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The European consumer policy relies on the ideal of consumer empowerment, which involves providing all consumers with detailed information on the goods on offer. This policy also applies to the electronic communications sector, and empowering consumers who are the end-users of internet access services. The author reviews behavioural law and economics literature that pertains to consumer empowerment and applies the resulting insights to interpret Article 4 (1) of Regulation 2015/2120 laying down measures concerning open internet access in a way that would truly empower the sophisticated consumers. The author also proposes advising or obliging the providers of internet access services to label those services to provide even the unsophisticated consumers with meaningful and understandable information
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The corporate human rights development was fueled by the increasing amount of fines imposed on both European and national level. For many years, the jurisprudence of the ECtHR has classified administrative, including competition law enforcement as a quasi-criminal process during which human rights shall be respected to a certain extent. This paper strives to explain the evolution of competition law enforcement in Hungary, with procedural safeguards protecting undertakings having come close to the level of protection provided under criminal law. Of the numerous human rights relevant in competition law enforcement the paper will focus on institutional check-and-balances, and the appropriate level of judicial review. The thoroughness of the judicial review of administrative decisions resulting in fines is critical to the analysis of whether the traditional continental European structure of administrative law enforcement is in conformity with the principles of the ECHR. The narrow interpretation of the prohibition of judicial re-evaluation and judicial deference to competition authorities exhibiting significant expert knowledge is of central importance in this debate
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Leniency programmes in competition law make it possible to grant immunity from fines, or a reduction of any fine that would otherwise have been imposed on an undertaking who was a party to an unlawful agreement restricting competition. This immunity or fine reduction is granted as a reward for the cooperation with the competition authority and the provision of evidence of an unlawful agreement restricting competition. Legal rules regarding the application of leniency programmes have been introduced at the EU level as well as in the national legislations of numerous countries, including Polish law. The author makes an attempt to establish the degree to which the Polish leniency programme is an effect of the impact of EU law or the application of law within the EU (for instance, by its institutions). The analysis has been made on three levels. Examined first was the degree to which the Polish leniency programme is a result of spontaneous harmonisation. Second, the impact of legislative harmonisation in the area of leniency programmes was taken into consideration. Finally, it was verified whether those Polish authorities that apply Polish competition law are inspired by judgements issued by EU courts in cases regarding leniency programmes
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The EU Antitrust Damages Actions Directive does not include provisions for collective redress. Each EU member state is free to provide national regulation on this matter. The Portuguese legal system provided regulation on actio popularis since 1995. The ‘rational apathy’ of individual consumers may lead to non-reparation of damage and be of significant benefit for the company that is in breach of the law. The opt-out models solve the crucial economic problem caused by a large number of consumers or clients who have suffered a small loss because of competition law infringements. Under those circumstances, it is rational to be apathetic, because it can be foreseen that the cost of filing for compensatory damages will exceed the recovery obtained from the defendant. Such rational apathy of the parties injured by competition law infringements favours the wrongfully acting companies by not extracting their illegal gains from them. By not requiring the active consent of each of the claimants, the opt-out model is able to override rational apathy of consumers.
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Any discussion of private antitrust enforcement usually focuses on substantive law and proceedings applicable to private antitrust cases. Those elements are important, however, the efficacy of both public and private enforcement relies upon rules of law (substantive and procedural) along with their application. The latter constitutes a substantial aspect affecting the institutions which make decisions in private antitrust enforcement cases, namely the relevant courts. The enforcement of competition law is inextricably intertwined with the economy and markets. As a result, antitrust cases are demanding for non-specialist judges, who usually do not have enough knowledge and experience in the field of competition. Even if the Damages Directive has already been implemented in all EU Member States, there is still room for discussion about developing an optimal court model for the adjudication of private antitrust enforcement cases. In the aforementioned discussion the issue of the binding effect of decisions made by the European Commission (EC) and National Competition Authorities (NCAs) in private enforcement cases, as well as the experience of judges stemming from the number of cases they have resolved, cannot be missed. Bearing this in mind, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the model of competent courts operating in private antitrust cases in twenty selected countries including the US, the UK and the vast majority of EU Member States. Taking into account that a theoretically pure concept of an ideal model of relevant court operations presumably does not exist, it is essential to try to figure out what the main characteristics of the courts might be that can lead to effective private antitrust enforcement.
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The paper aims at showing the influence and the views espoused by economic theories and schools of economics on competition policy embedded in antitrust law and conducted by competition authorities in the field of vertical agreements. The scope of the paper demonstrates how substantially the economization of antitrust law has changed the assessment as to the harmfulness of vertical agreements. The analysis of economic aspects of vertical agreements in antitrust analysis allows one to reveal their pro-competitive effects and benefits, with the consumer being their beneficiary. The basic instrument of the said economization is that antitrust bodies draw on specific economic models and theories that can be employed in their practice. Within the scope of the paper, the author synthesizes the role and influence of those models and schools of economics on the application of competition law in the context of vertical agreements. In presenting, one after another, the theories and schools of economics which used to, or are still dealing with competition policy the author emphasises that in its nature this impact was more or less direct. Some of them remain at the level of general principals and axiology of competition policy, while others, in contrast, delineate concrete evaluation criteria and show how the application of those criteria changes the picture of anti-competitive practices; in other words, why vertical agreements, which in the past used to be considered to restrain competition, are no longer perceived as such. The paper presents the models and recommendations of neoclassical economics, the Harvard School, the Chicago and Post-Chicago School, the ordoliberal school, the Austrian and neo-Austrian school as well as the transaction cost theory
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The paper presents four pillars of competition law that can be recognised in the European Union and Member States, namely EU competition law, national competition law sensu stricto, national competition law sensu largo and competition rules sensu largissimo. In order to demonstrate that this multi-faceted and complex system is able to work in an orderly manner, it is considered in relation to various concepts, particularly unity, uniformity and effectiveness. Nevertheless, the concept of unity serves as a focal point for the observations. The perspective of the EU single market plays a part also, enhancing the call for unity. With regard to discussed threats for unity, possible solutions are proposed in the final part of the article.
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The legal basis the European Commission (EC) choses for its actions when it finds a Member State’s action (or inaction) to be in breach of its obligations stemming from its EU membership vary in different fields of law. This is particularly visible in State aid on one side, and general infringement proceedings on the other. But the line between the general character of a possible infringement and that of State aid law is sometimes blurred and difficult to establish This article analyses if the EC does not abuse its powers when it chooses Article 108(2) TFEU, instead of Article 258 TFEU. A positive answer to that question is difficult to find and controversial. However, given the benefits the EC gains by taking action under Article 108(2) TFEU, it is visible that the EC’s choice can be biased because of those benefits
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