On July 4, Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Centre, moderated the 4th Meeting of Regional Organizations on Competition entitled “Judicial and Administrative Appeals of the Decisions and Acts of Regional Competition Authorities.” The event was hosted by the Eurasian Economic Commission at the sidelines of the 22nd session of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy.
Alexey Ivanov invited the participants to discuss the role of national competition authorities in the appeal procedure and ways to develop and improve regional laws and mechanisms on the procedure. He also noted the interest in the meeting from various regional organizations — for example, the Arab Competition Network joined the meeting for the first time.
The main goal of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Union is to ensure uniform and systematic application of the legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union, including competition law, emphasized Alexey Dronov, President of the EAEU Court. In his speech, he touched upon the problematic aspects of the appeal procedure and raised the issue of the standard of judicial review in matters of complex economic evaluation, which are often present in competition cases where the Commission has to analyze the economic effect of anticompetitive practices.
“The Court of Justice of the European Union is often content with a limited review in this regard, overturning the European Commission's findings only in cases of manifest error. We are interested to hear your views on whether this approach allows for effective judicial protection or whether the court should immerse itself in all aspects of the case, including economic ones,”
Dronov noted.
Haya Ibrahim AlAnabr (on behalf of Chair of the Arab Competition Network, H.E. Dr Abdulaziz Alzoom), Head of the Partnerships and International Relations Unit, General Authority of Competition of Saudi Arabia, presented the Arab Competition Network, which comprised 18 countries, and gave an overview of cases of cooperation between states in the region. The objective of the Arab Competition Network is to promote fair markets in the region and to enhance efficiency and competition, she emphasized. The network has four working groups on M&A, competition law enforcement, institutional efficiency and fair competition advocacy.
The issue of education of judges was addressed by Mahmoud Momtaz, Chairman of the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA), who emphasized that UNCTAD's Middle East and North Africa Regional Training Center provides training for judges.
“This is very important because even if you have a perfect competition agency producing the best decisions and handling the best cases, but you don't have a very strong judiciary body, much of your work will not affect consumers.”
A digital library of all the cases that have been reviewed in different jurisdictions in the Arab world should be created. This will allow judges deciding cases to easily access the database, Mahmoud Momtaz emphasized.
Alexia Waweru, Principal Legal Officer at COMESA Competition Commission, spoke about the mechanisms for appealing decisions of the Commission to the courts. National competition authorities do not play a direct role in appeal processes, but their role is extremely important when it comes to investigations, Ms. Vaveru stressed.
“It is interesting to note that since the Commission was established in 2013, not a single appeal has been lodged with the COMESA Court of Justice,”
she said.
The situation is similar in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU): of the 10 cases heard by the court and in all 10 cases, the outcome was in line with the competition authority's position, said Mr Mélaine Cohou Tchokponhoue, Director of Competition, WAEMU Commission.
No appeals have yet been filed with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court, which is authorized to hear all competition appeals. The ECOWAS Competition Authority started its work in 2019 and sees its goal as to establish cooperation with national competition authorities and facilitate their establishment in those countries in the region that do not yet have their own competition regulators, emphasized Yahya Samateh, Head of Competition and Economic Research Division, ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority.
Raksagecha Chaechai, Commissioner of the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) and Chair of the ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC), spoke about the development of best practices in competition policy and law within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Established in 2007, the Experts Group plays an important role in promoting the benefits of competition across the region by fostering an environment where businesses can thrive, innovate and compete. ASEAN countries have established the Merger Information Sharing Portal (MISP), which aims to increase transparency of transactions and strengthen cooperation among ASEAN competition authorities on cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
“This portal ensures the timely exchange of information, allowing us to assess the effects of mergers and more effectively and prevent anti-competitive practices that can harm our economy and consumers. (...) By ensuring that competition authorities have access to relevant information, we can make informed decisions that promote fair competition and protect consumer welfare across the region,”
said Raksagecha Chaechai.
Denis Kabbale of the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat spoke about the specifics of the appeal procedure within the EAC through the East African Court of Justice and the types of appeal procedures applicable to decisions and actions of regional competition authorities.
At the end of the meeting, Maksim Yermolovich, Member of the Board-Minister in Charge of Competition and Antitrust Regulation, Eurasian Economic Union, supported Mahmoud Momtaz's proposal to create a case library, which would provide an insight into how regional organizations deal with specific cases. Yermolovich stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between regional organizations on competition issues. “Our meetings are truly global and bring together representatives from different parts of the world,” he emphasized.
