The Cartel Law Amendment Of 2017 – Changes That Affect Enterprises

The Amendment of the Acts Governing Cartels and Competition was passed by Parliament on 30 March 2017 and will, in parts, be retro-actively effective as of 1 May 2017. It will have several consequences for enterprises.

The Amendment is primarily designed to transpose EU Directive 2014/104/EU on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions. The object is to facilitate private enforcement of claims for damages under competition law for consumers and entrepreneurs and to achieve a balance between the private prosecution of a claim and public law enforcement. Key issues are:

• Every natural and legal person is entitled to full damages for an infringement of competition law, including abuse of a dominant market position, comprising both economic losses and lost profit plus interest as of the occurrence of such damage.