ARTICLES : FRENCH COMPETITION AUTHORITY - ENFORCEMENT OF COMPETITION LAW - SETTLEMENT PROCEDURE

French settlement procedure: An indisputable success

KEYWORDS

Ten years after the introduction of the settlement procedure and pending new procedural notices from the French Competition Authority, we have analysed past decisions of the Authority and the case law of the review courts with a view to assessing the implementation and consequences of this procedure in practice. The practical approach followed by the Authority in its application of the settlement procedure has already made it a success. A certain number of adjustments could however be made in order to consolidate its position in the enforcement of competition law.

*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article. I. Introduction 1. The procedure for the non-contestation of grievances, sometimes called "settlement", is defined in Article L. 464-2, III of the French Commercial [1]Code . It allows undertakings to which a notification of objections has been sent not to contest the reality of their objections in exchange for a reduction of half of the maximum amount of the penalty incurred, to which may be added, in the case of commitments, an additional reduction of the fine [2]. This procedure enables the Competition [3] Authority (hereinafter the "Authority") to deal with a case after a shorter and lighter procedure (in cases where the investigation services can dispense

Access to this article is restricted to subscribers

Already Subscribed? Sign-in

Access to this article is restricted to subscribers.

Read one article for free

Sign-up to read this article for free and discover our services.

 

This document is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties. Non-authorised use of this document constitutes a violation of the publisher's rights and may be punished by up to 3 years imprisonment and up to a € 300 000 fine (Art. L 335-2 Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle). Personal use of this document is authorised within the limits of Art. L 122-5 CPI and DRM protection.