The EU Court of Justice upholds the Commission’s fine against a fish farming and processing company for infringing merger control rules (Marine Harvest)

Norwegian salmon farmer Marine Harvest has been unsuccessful in its appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding substantial and separate fines imposed on it by the European Commission for both failing to notify a merger and for 'jumping the gun' in implementing the transaction prior to competition clearance. The judgment contains noteworthy rulings on the application of the ne bis in idem principle (no double jeopardy) when considering fines under EU competition law, in addition to clarifying the application of the notification and standstill obligations under Article 4(1) and Article 7(1) of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). The ruling is particularly important for companies engaging in merger activity as it demonstrates that the Commission can, in effect,