Merger Control Reform Could Have Big Impact, Especially For ‘National' Markets

Philipp E Zurkinden, Bernhard C Lauterburg, Andrea Schütz and Marino Baldi¹

Introduction

Swiss competition law
Swiss competition law is primarily governed by the Federal Law on Cartels and other Restraints of Competition (LCart).² The LCart is primarily enforced by the Competition Commission (ComCo) whose decisions can be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Supreme Court. Civil courts play only a marginal role in the enforcement of the LCart due to procedural hurdles. The purpose of the LCart is to prevent harmful economic or social effects of cartels and other restraints of competition and for this purpose sets out behavioural and structural rules. It applies to anticompetitive practices that have an effect in Switzerland, even if they originate in another country. The current LCart has been in effect since 1 July 1996 and has twice been substantially amended (in 2004, with the introduction of direct sanctions and the precision of the