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In our
October 2011 Competition Newsletter we reported on the Irish
Supreme Court's ruling in DPP v Hegarty that an
individual employee can be tried for a breach of Irish competition
law even if his employer has not been convicted of an
offence. Following the ruling, the case against Pat Hegarty
continued in the Galway Circuit Criminal Court.
On 3 May 2012, the jury in the case found Mr. Hegarty guilty of
price-fixing and he was sentenced to two years in prison
(suspended) and fined €30,000. He also faces
disqualification from being a company director for five
years. Mr. Hegarty becomes the first ever individual in
Ireland or in the EU to be convicted by a jury for
price-fixing.
Prior to Mr. Hegarty's conviction, there had been seventeen
convictions involving ten undertakings and seven individuals in
connection with the heating oil cartel (including one suspended
sentence). Fines ranged from €1,000 to
€15,000. Mr. Hegarty was the last remaining
defendant in the investigation. The jury's conviction of
Mr. Hegarty and the court's approach to fines and sentencing
demonstrate the willingness of both judge and jury to penalise
breaches of competition law in Ireland. It appears to be only
a matter of time before a convicted cartelist faces real time in
prison in the jurisdiction. Warnings from the judiciary
certainly support this view.
The Irish Competition Authority is expected to publish its
revised Cartel Immunity Programme ("CIP") in the
short-term. It is currently being considered by the Irish
Director of Public Prosecutions. The revisions are intended
to make the CIP more self-contained, transparent and attractive to
potential applicants, thereby making it more effective.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the government is considering removing the
requirement for proof of dishonesty in criminal cartel cases.
Currently, individuals can be found guilty of a breach of criminal
cartel laws only if they act dishonestly. Clearly, cartel
enforcement remains a high priority for government and regulators
in both Ireland and in the UK.
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On 18 March 2013, the European Commission issued revised guidance on the conduct of inspections at business premises of undertakings suspected of anticompetitive behaviour.
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 is expected to herald the development of a more effective and efficient competition law regime in the UK.
For well over a century IP law has featured a special set of rules whereby liability can be incurred as a result of the issue of groundless threats of infringement proceedings.
On 22 November 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed an appeal by E.ON Energie AG against an earlier European Commission decision imposing a EUR 38 million fine for breaking a seal during a dawn raid.
Following detailed consultation exercise carried out by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and a legislative process, we now have the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act.
In a judgment of 26 February 2013, the German Regional Court of Cologne rejected an action for damages in the amount of more than € 1.1 billion.
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