The House of Councillors has unanimously approved the draft law amending and supplementing the Competition Council bill during a legislative session held Tuesday.
The House of Representatives had unanimously approved the two legislative texts back in July this year, both the law on freedom of prices and competition, and the law on the reform of the Competition Council will now soon enter into force.
The main amendments made by these laws concern the clarification of procedures relating to the hearings of the parties concerned by investigation services by the Competition Council.
The legislation includes clarification of procedures relating to business secrecy and notification of infringements and decisions, and revision of procedure for not contesting notified grievances, as an alternative to the current litigation procedure for ruling on referrals.
The importance of the secrecy of deliberations in cases relating to anti-competitive practices and in the Competition Council Board’s decisions is a significant change, as the new regulation emphasizes its importance.
It is also a matter of giving the Council the possibility of issuing guidelines relating in particular to the modalities of exercise of the principle of presence, procedures of negotiation and the determination of the pecuniary sanctions decided by the aforementioned Council.
The new legal texts set tighter deadlines for the Competition Council to take its decision after the end of the deliberations, and clarifies the method for determining financial penalties, taking into account aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Presenting this text, Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah stressed that the amendments introduced come in application of the High Royal Instructions, aiming to bring necessary precision to the legal framework relating to the Competition Council and to consolidate its position as an independent constitutional institution, contributing in particular to the consolidation of good governance.
These amendments aim to clarify the powers of the President of the Council and the various decision-making bodies to avoid any dispute related to the overlapping of powers and appeals in this area, and to empower the rules of procedure of the Council and its prerogatives.
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