The Protection of Competition Law of 2022 (hereby the ‘'Law''), constitutes the most recent legislation adopted in Cyprus on Competition Law matters, repealing the Protection of Competition Laws of 2008 and 2014.
The Law entered into force on the 23rd February 2022 and it transposes and harmonises Cyprus Law with Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (known as ''ECN+ Directive'').
Key Changes
The new framework introduces procedural changes, aiming to strengthen the powers and competencies of the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition (hereby the ‘'Commission'').
Therefore, additions to the legal framework concern the:
- Impartiality and independence of the President and the Members of the Commission.
- Obligation of confidentiality to protect business secrets, confidential information and personal data.
- Case file and classification of business secrets and confidential information.
- Access to the administrative file of the case.
- Restrictions on the use of business secrets and confidential information in court proceedings.
- Obligation of public officials and possibility for third parties to disclose information.
- The deadline to settle a fine, which, unless otherwise specified by the Commission, is within 60 days, failure of which makes the fine subject to an annual interest from the date on which the time limit for payment has passed.
- Power of the Commission to continue an investigation of a complaint despite it being withdrawn.
- The mutual assistance between national competition authorities and cooperation with the European competition network.
Prohibited Practices
As regards the prohibited practices:
- restrictive agreements on competition (Article 3 of the Law),
- abuse of dominance (Article 6 of the Law), and
- abuse of relationships of economic dependence (Article 6 of the Law),
the new legal framework largely preserves the provisions of the previous law.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.