Prohibited Practices

From a prohibited practices perspective, some of the main legal developments in South Africa were (i) the CAC and the Supreme Court of Appeal's (SCA) scrutiny of the Commission's initiation of complaint investigations, (ii) the Commission's introduction of a fast-track settlement process in respect of its cartel investigations in the construction sector, (iii) new guidance from the CAC on the method of calculating penalties for prohibited cartel conduct; and (iv) the dismissal of an attempted class action damages claim pursuant to a finding of anti-competitive conduct.

The Commission came under significant scrutiny by the courts in a number of cases regarding its initiation and referral of complaint investigations to the Tribunal, following the SCA's Woodlands decision in 2010. In particular, the CAC and the SCA have now ruled in the Woodlands, Loungefoam and Yara & Omnia cases that a complaint referred to the Tribunal by the Commission cannot extend beyond the scope