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ARTICLE · 20 FEBRUARY 2012

Antitrust Alert: Reforms Bring Greater Transparency To European Commission Antitrust Proceedings

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The European Commission ("Commission") has adopted a package of antitrust procedural reforms designed to increase transparency and fairness in antitrust competition proceedings and advise parties on what they can expect at different stages of an antitrust investigation.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Frances Murphy
Frances Murphy
Lynette Zahn
Lynette Zahn
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The European Commission ("Commission") has adopted a package of antitrust procedural reforms designed to increase transparency and fairness in antitrust competition proceedings and advise parties on what they can expect at different stages of an antitrust investigation. These reforms may lead to less litigation, with more disputes being resolved before a Hearing Officer.

The reforms comprise (i) a Notice on Best Practices for the conduct of proceedings concerning Articles 101 and 102, (ii) Revision of the Hearing Officer's mandate, and (iii) Best Practices on the submission of economic evidence and data collection in cases concerning the application of Articles 101 and 102 and in merger cases. Article 101 prohibits anti-competitive arrangements. Article 102 prohibits abuse of a dominant position.

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