EU Guidance on Article 82 published

The EU has published its much anticipated guidance document on abuse of dominance under article 82.  View the press release.  As expected, it sets out “an economic and effects-based approach to exclusionary conduct under EC antitrust law”.  The document also makes clear that the enforcement policy is focused on protecting consumers and protecting the “process of competition and not on protecting individual competitors” and expressly recognises the relevance of efficiency claims.   The full guidance document can be viewed here.  The Commission has also published an FAQ Document.

Criminal Cartel Bill Introduced

The much anticipated criminal cartel bill was introduced into Parliament today. The bill, EM and related material can be viewed at the bill home page.

MOU and immunity policies for criminal cartel conduct

On 1 December the ACCC and the CDPP released their final MOU regarding immunity for criminal cartel conduct (see also CDPP press release).  The ACCC has also issued revised immunity guidelines.  The MOU and new Immunity policies are subject to the new criminal cartel laws coming into operation.  Importantly, a new ‘Annexure to the Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth for Immunity from Prosecution in Serious Cartel Offences’ has been created.  Paragraph 1.3 states: “Following a recommendation from the ACCC, the Director will decide whether to grant immunity from prosecution by applying the same criteria as contained in the ACCC’s immunity policy.  The decision of the Director whether to grant immunity will be communicated to the applicant at the same time as the ACCC’s decision whether to grant conditional immunity.”

See further “Immunity Plan for Cartel Whistleblowers” in the Australian today (2 December)