General Procedure and Enforcement: Competition

This Practice note sets out the procedures that apply to appeals before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) brought under the provisions of the Communications Act 2003. It includes details of the procedure that the CAT will apply when referring a price control matter to the Competition Commission for determination under section 193 of the Communications Act.

This Practice note considers the extent to which companies may be able to prevent disclosure of documents on the grounds that the documents are entitled to protection by the right of legal professional privilege in relation to European Commission competition investigations. (The authors are grateful to Lesley Ainsworth of Hogan Lovells International LLP for her assistance in the preparation of this Practice note).

The Practice note on procedure, negotiation and enforcement examines the nature of the powers of the Office of Fair Trading and sectoral regulators to supervise and enforce the Competition Act 1998. It provides guidance on notifications and complaints and on procedures used by the Office of Fair Trading to obtain information, impose interim measures, bring an end to infringements and to calculate fines. Appeal rights and the possibility of bringing private actions are also considered. This section also examines the investigatory powers of the Office of Fair Trading and Serious Fraud Office in relation to the cartel offence introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002. Following a consultation in March 2011, the government has announced its decision on proposals to reform the UK competition regime. The government has decided to establish a new single Competition and Markets Authority to replace the OFT and Competition Commission.  The government has also decided on various, largely procedural changes to strengthen the mergers, markets and antitrust enforcement regimes. For further information see Government decisions on establishment of Competition and Markets Authority and reform of UK competition regime.

This Practice note sets out the jurisdiction of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to hear claims for damages caused by breaches of competition law that may be brought by individuals and consumer groups. It examines the procedures that apply in damages claims and the substantive issues that are likely to arise for consideration by the CAT.

This Practice note considers the European Commission's power under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 (the Modernisation Regulation) to accept binding commitments from parties suspected of having breached EU competition law. It examines the policy and procedures applied by the Commission during the commitments process and contains summaries of the commitments decisions taken under Article 9.

This Practice note explains when Office of Fair Trading (OFT) officials have the power to enter business and domestic premises in relation to competition and criminal investigations under respectively the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. It details the powers of OFT officials once they have entered the premises and describes the procedures that OFT officials will usually apply when entering and searching premises under the Competition Act.

The Practice note considers the requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules Practice Direction - Competition Law - Claims relating to the application of Articles 101 and 102  of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Chapters I and II of Part I of the Competition Act 1998, and the obligations of the national courts in relation to their duty to co-operate with the European Commission.