Focus Antitrust - Competition Weekly Email Alert - 13 February 2013

In the News

ECJ confirms that illegality of competitor's activities does not justify cartel

The European Court of Justice has issued its ruling on a reference from a Slovak court in relation to an infringement of Article 101 by three Slovak banks. The banks agreed to withdraw services from a Czech company, which was competing with the banks, in order to exclude it from the market. The ECJ ruled that it was irrelevant for the purposes of applying Article 101 to such an agreement that the Czech company was allegedly operating illegally in Slovakia. The banks should not have taken matters into their own hands, but rather should have lodged a complaint with the relevant authority. The ECJ also ruled that it was no defence that the employees that took part in the agreement had not been authorised to do so. Click here.