Pilar Carrasco is an associate in the Madrid office of Herbert Smith Freehills. She joined the competition department of the firm in September 2016 as a junior associate. Before joining the firm, she completed nine months as a trainee lawyer in Herbert Smith Freehills and three months as a work experience student in the Spanish Prime Minister’s office.
74
On 24 November 2022, Spain’s National Markets and Competition Commission (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, “CNMC”) announced its intention to start including directly in its decisions the scope and duration of procurement bans imposed on parties involved in cartel (...)
566
On 21 October 2022, the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) imposed a €38.9 million fine on pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) for abusing its dominant position in the Spanish market for contraceptive vaginal rings. In particular, the CNMC concluded that (...)
337
The amendment of Law 12/2013, of 2 August, on measures to improve the functioning of the food chain (Law 12/2013) was approved by Spanish Congress on 2 December and entered into effect on 16 December 2021. The primary purpose of the amendment is to transpose into Spanish law Directive (EU) (...)
160
The Spanish Supreme Court (SC) has delivered a judgment in which it confirmed that courts are able to issue injunctive relief to temporarily prevent decisions on penalties rendered by the National Markets and Competition Commission (the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia, or (...)
38
In its judgment dated 6 May 2021, the Spanish Supreme Court (the "SC") found that an exchange of information among competitors that does not directly relate to final prices but that affects certain elements linked to final prices such as commercial margins, may reduce competition in (...)
245
On 28 April 2021, Royal Decree-Law 7/2021, of 27 April, was published in Spain’s Official State Journal (RD 7/2021). RD 7/2021 has the aim of transposing into Spanish legislation a number of EU directives, including Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 (...)
51
The National Court has annulled the CNMC’s decision in case S/DC/0525/14 CEMENTOS. In this case, the CNMC fined a number of companies for taking part in four cartels, which constituted four separate single and continuous infringements. However, the National Court, found that the conditions for (...)
131
The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (“CNMC”) has confirmed in the final version of the Guide on compliance programmes in relation to competition rules (the “Guide”) that compliance programmes could potentially modulate the penalties imposed on companies investigated for (...)
428
The CNMC bolsters its online whistleblowing hotline to pursue anticompetitive conduct in any sector, although with a special interest in the medical equipment, funeral and cremation services sectors. An enquiries platform is also launched so that operators can make competition law enquiries (...)
56
The Provincial Court of Pontevedra, Spain (Provincial Court) reduced the amount of damages received by an individual for the acquisition of a truck from one of the companies sanctioned by the European Commission’s decision in case AT.39824 -Trucks (EC Decision) when that cartel was in place (...)
22
In its recent judgments dated 1 October 2019 (in connection with appeals 5280/2018 and 5244/2018 ), the Spanish Supreme Court (the "SSC") has found that the legal representatives and members of the management boards of undertakings that infringe competition rules need not have a decisive or (...)
75
In its judgment dated 9 April 2019, the Spanish Supreme Court (the ’SC’) found that the members of the governing bodies of undertakings that infringe competition rules can be penalised for their participation in those infringements regardless of the individual or collegiate nature of the (...)
