Attorney-Client Privilege from Competition Law Perspective: Comparison Between Turkish and French Legal Systems
The attorney-client privilege is a common law concept of legal professional privilege in the United States. The concept also exists in civil law countries where there is a secrecy obligation on the part of professionals in guaranteeing that clients’ confidential information is kept secret from disclosure to third parties. The civil law concept of attorney-client …
The Court’s Fact Check: The First-Degree Court Quashes in Part and Affirms in Part the Comprehensive Interim Measures Decision Brought by the Turkish Competition Authority Against Trendyol
Until recent times, an interim measure decision of the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) was something hard to come by. However, with the growing prominence of digital markets and the equally strong response from the competition authorities, that situation has changed as well. The latest experience shows that the TCA is more determined to actively use …
Administrative Court Decided to Stay the Execution of Turkish Competition Authority’s Decision of Administrative Monetary Fine for Hindrance of On-site Inspection (Sahibinden.com)
As is well known, the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) is authorized to examine all data and documents on electronic platforms and information systems during the on-site inspections pursuant to the amendment dated 16.06.2020 on Article 15 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”). Subsequently, the TCA published the Guidelines on the …
Automotive Companies are Cleared of the Allegations of Stockpiling and Competitively Sensitive Information Exchange!
The automotive sector has been on the radar of the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) for a long time. In this sense, the TCA conducted an investigation (“Investigation”) regarding the allegations that some undertakings operating in the first-hand and second-hand automotive markets violated Law. No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”) via stockpiling and …
Lack of Evidence is not Evidence: TCA’s Differing Approach to Standard of Proof for Hinderance of On-Site Inspections
In accordance with the Turkish Competition Authority’s (“TCA”) decision dated 25.11.2021 and numbered 21-57/796-M, the TCA initiated an investigation against undertakings in the market for fast-moving consumer goods to ascertain whether Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”) has been violated. Within this scope, the TCA conducted an on-site …
Of SIEC-Test and Thresholds: Merger Control 2022 in Turkey
The substantial rules of the Turkish merger control are taken from the corresponding EU provisions. The amendments to the Turkish Competition Law in 2020 introduced the SIEC test to improve the concentration control regime and harmonize it with the EU rules even further. The amended Merger Communique in 2022 revised the thresholds as a response …
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Turkish Competition Authority Terminated its Investigation Against Leading e-Scooter Rental Firm with Commitments
New markets are under the intense scrutiny of the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) due to new competitive concerns arising from the disruption that has emerged with the technological changes in the markets. Recently, the TCA has shifted its focus to emerging markets while monitoring the traditional markets constantly. In this framework, in July, the TCA …
A New Age for Digital Markets in Turkey? The Draft Amendment to the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition
This blogpost will give an overview on the draft amendment (the “Draft Amendment”) to the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (the “Law No. 4054”). The key points of the Draft Amendment concern:
Türk Telekom Decision: Recent Approach to Refusal to Deal
The Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) published its reasoned decision dated 30.09.2021 and numbered 21-46/667-332 (the “Decision”) concerning the full-fledged investigation launched against Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. (“TT”) upon the complaints of undertakings operating in the retail fixed broadband internet access services market (downstream market). In their complaints, internet service providers (“ISPs”) alleged that TT rejected …
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Dawn raids in Turkey – Can Companies Avoid Responsibility by Asserting Subjective Grounds for the Deleted Data During On-site Inspections?
The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) has rendered a number of decisions, particularly in recent years, on whether on-site inspections have been hindered or complicated. These include two recent decisions on D-Market Elektronik Hizmetler ve Ticaret A.Ş. (“Hepsiburada”), one of the largest e-marketplaces in Turkey.