Dawn Raids In Ireland: Part 2 – Disputes Relating To Seized Data

In the complex world of regulatory investigations, unannounced inspections, known as "Dawn Raids ", stand out as a particularly invasive method used by competition authorities to investigate potential breaches of competition law, including cartels, abuse of dominance and anti-competitive agreements or violations of digital and foreign subsidy regulations. These surprise inspections are designed to catch businesses off guard, allowing investigators to seize documents and data that may be crucial to their investigation.

Our previous discussion in Part 1 of our Dawn Raids in Ireland series on Powers of the CCPC delved into the procedural aspects of these raids, offering insights into what businesses can expect when they find themselves at the centre of an investigation conducted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) or by the European Commission (EC).