Richard Whish

The decision concerns a circular issued by the applicant company to entrepreneurs who participate in the fairs and exhibitions it organizes. The specific issue raised concerned the granting of the right of preference to past exhibitors on the basis that these would have already invested in the (...)

This case can be regarded as a landmark in the evolution of competition law in Malta : for the first time the Commission handed down a judgment in which it found that an infringement of the Competition Act had been committed. The Commission held that Malta Dairy Products Ltd (’MDPL’) held a (...)

The General Retailers and Traders Union was concerned about the effect of a series of acquisitions of popular supermarkets in Malta by operators already involved in the same sector : could this be detrimental to other players in the market ? In other words, the issue was one of concentration (...)

The complainant operated a newsagency in the Departure Lounge at Malta International Airport. When the Airport Authority invited tenders for new leases of premises at the airport, the complainant enjoyed a right of first refusal. However, the dominant importer of newspapers and periodicals, (...)

In the present case the Maltese Office of Fair Competition had received a complaint in June 1996 concerning the sale of cigarettes through automatic vending machines. The Office investigated the complaint, and concluded that there was no infringement of the 1994 Act with the result that the (...)

The purpose of competition law is to enhance consumer welfare : the most obvious infringement of the law is a horizontal agreement whereby the members of a cartel impose higher prices on their customers. However, many cases do not fit this fact pattern : often one of the parties to an (...)

This decision concerns a request for the granting of an individual exemption (based on the Malta Competition Act) concerning various exclusivity agreements that the local manufacturer of Coca-Cola had entered into with a considerable number of outlets. It is also to be noted that this request (...)

The merits examined here are identical to those relative to Request Number 1 of 1997. To avoid useless repetition reference is made to the decision following that request.

The decision concerns a request for the granting of an individual exemption (based on the Malta Competition Act) to agreements already entered into by applicant company binding resellers of its products. The request centred around the fact that the termination of these agreements was going (...)

The first judgment of the Commission concerned the price of beer. This case was brought under section 11 of the Competition Act, as originally drafted, under which power existed to regulate the price of ’essential’ products. This provision was not without controversy. In a competition-based (...)