Commitment And Settlement Clause In Competition Act: Boon Or Bane?

The government is considering the introduction of a commitment and settlement clause in The Competition Act to reduce pendency of cases by reaching settlements extending relief to companies bleeding with loss in business due to such prolonged trials. The statistics for such trails in the past few years demonstrate that it takes an average of 4 years for the CCI to reach final decisions and almost 40-45% of such decisions are set aside by the appellate authority.

Long trials and high pendency are a result of increasing complexities of cases and shortage of resources in the DG's office which is responsible for the investigation of cases referred by the CCI. The Competition Law Review Committee (CLRC), has suggested the government to introduce the mechanism of commitment and settlement in order to achieve fast track and optimal disposal of cases using a mechanism which exploits fewer resources of the commission, saves time, helps avoid loss of business and enhance the