Autorité de la concurrence
The ; ) is France's national competition regulator. Its predecessor, the Competition Council, was established in the 1950s. The Competition Authority is an, responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and monitoring the functioning of markets. It aims to ensure respect for the law linked "to the defense of a sufficient market competition".
Although it is not considered a court, it pronounces injunctions, makes decisions, and if necessary, imposes penalties, subject to appeal to the Court of Appeal of Paris and the Court of Cassation. It also issues opinions.
The main sources of law of its action are the Commercial Code and Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Its headquarters are in Paris, at 11 Rue de l'Echelle
History
Created by a decree of 9 August 1953 in the form of a commission attached to the Minister for the Economy, the Competition Council, as its name officially by the order of December 1, 1986 has become, since January 13, 2009 and according to the law of 4 August 2008 on modernization of the economy, the Competition Authority. His powers have been gradually extended, including the law of 15 March 2001 on new economic regulations to meet the control objective of the proper competitive functioning of the market.The technical commission agreements and dominant positions
The political will to fight against cartels
In the early 1950s, in an economic context and directed nationalized since the Great Depression 2, as well as agreements with professional way since the Second World War with the Vichy regime and the German planning of the French economy the government attention focuses on anti-competitive practices. The persistence of corporatist practices, after the Vichy regime, helping to change the vision of the government on the effects of horizontal agreements between competitors 3.The government decided to take measures against price fixing 4, down the price system set by the administration since Ordinance No. 45-1483 of 30 June 1945 adopted in the aftermath of the war. Thus, Law No 52-835 of 18 July 1952 enriches the list of anti-competitive practices in the order of 30 June 1945.
In 1953, both Houses of Parliament tear around the passage of a law establishing the status of cartels. In January 1950, a bill introduced by Henri Teitgen is the establishment of a specialized court for review of agreements to curb unlawful agreements but to allow those deemed consistent with the public interest 3. Other projects submitted tend to amend Articles 419 and 420 of the penal code to punish agreements. Asked for an opinion, to inform parliamentary debates 5, the Economic Council rejects the draft Henri Teitgen, due to the exorbitant powers of its specialized jurisdiction of the project and in the absence of judicial redress against its decisions.
The resistance of both Houses encourages the government to override opposition parliamentarians 4 : Article 7 of the Framework Law No. 53-611 of 11 July 1953 empowers the government to take measures "to maintain or restore a free industrial and commercial competition" 6, according to the practice of decree laws in force under the Fourth Republic. The French legislation also seemed upset with the Havana Charter.
Creation of the commission by the decree of 9 August 1953
As part of the policy of "economic and financial recovery" conducted by the Government of Joseph Laniel, was adopted on the basis of the aforementioned law decree No. 53-704 of 9 August 1953, to "put an end to practices that by restricting fair trade competition, oppose any price drop" 7. The decree establishes the principle of "prohibition of all practices that thwart the full exercise of competition by opposing the lowering of cost prices or selling prices". This Order amends the order of 30 June 1945 which established a price system directed to curb high inflation.To punish these offenses, is created a technical commission agreements, composed of members of the State Council, judges of the Supreme Court and the Court of Auditors, as well as qualified persons, attached to the Minister of economy. This committee is responsible for examining possible violations of rules prohibiting cartels, and appreciates the possible justifications that were made to them. Entering either the ordinary courts or by the Minister of Economy, the Technical Commission of the agreements provides an opinion to the minister who has the exclusive power to transmit or not the case to the prosecutor or impose fines. The technical commission agreements is then an external expert body 8 with the aim to inform decisions of the Minister for the Economy 9.
The decree, adopted on the report of Edgar Faure, stems from an initiative of the Director of prices, Louis Franck, who obtained the Secretary of State for Trade introducing a device to fight against cartels, while the attention of the latter is rather addressed the discriminatory practices and price fixing 3.
The inaugural session of the Technical Commission of the agreements was held on April 9, 1954, but it was not until 23 April 1955 that really began consideration by the board, business submitted to it for review 2.
Extension of the competence of the technical committee to dominant positions
Law n ° 63-628 of 2 July 1963 supplementary budget for 1963 extends the jurisdiction of the Technical Commission of the agreements with the dominant positions of practices characterized by "a monopoly or a manifest concentration of economic power, when these activities the object or may have the effect of impeding the normal operation of the market " 10.The Competition Commission (1977–1986)
Following the first oil crisis in 1973, which deeply undermines the planning approach adopted in France since the Liberation, the second government of Raymond Barre progressively reduced price controls. Several laws will strengthen the framework of the French competition law.Law n ° 77-806 of 19 July 1977 creates the Competition Commission, and extends its jurisdiction on two points. Henceforth, the Competition Commission knows in an advisory capacity to "all questions concerning competition referred to it by the Government", and advises on transactions or projects of concentration. In an Assembly decision of 13 March 1981, the Council of State denied him the jurisdiction of qualifying, but the class as "administrative agency". Subsequently, Law No. 85-1408 of 30 December 1985 on improving competition qualifies for the first time the Commission of "independent administrative authority".
The Competition Council (1986–2009)
The establishment of the Competition Council by the order of December 1, 1986
Following the political change of 1986, resulting in the first cohabitation, Ordinance No. 86-1243 of December 1, 1986 repeals the provisions of the Ordinance of 30 June 1945 which established an administrative price control. Now prices are "freely determined by competition". The ordinance establishes the Competition Council consisting of sixteen members, appointed for a term of six years on a proposal of the Minister of Economy.The Competition Council now has its own power of decision and sanctions on anticompetitive practices, although the power of decision in economic concentrations still held by the Minister of Economy, the Competition Council did in this case an advisory role.
The ordinance introduced other important innovations, namely enlargement, especially to businesses, Council referral opportunities, transferring the sanctioning power of the Minister Council in the economy, together with a control of the judicial court and a better procedure guaranteeing the rights of interested parties.
The law ratifying the order of December 1, 1986 provided for the transfer of contentious decisions of the Competition Council to the judicial judge, notwithstanding the traditional jurisprudential criteria that would have involved the jurisdiction of administrative courts. Seized under its constitutional review, the Constitutional Council clears the fundamental principle recognized by the laws of the Republic that "with the exception of matters reserved by nature to the judiciary, is ultimately the responsibility of the administrative court the annulment or alteration of decisions taken in the exercise of public powers by the authorities exercising executive power, agents, local authorities of the Republic or public bodies under their authority or control".
Successive expansion of the powers of the Competition Council
From 1986, the Competition Council sees its gradually extended powers. Law No. 92-1282 of 11 December 1992 empowers the Council to do under Articles 85 to 87 of the Treaty of Rome, which include prohibitions of dominant positions and agreements 17. LawGalland of 1 July 1996 expands the adjudicatory functions of the Competition Council to predatory pricing 18.The law New Economic Regulations of 15 May 2001 introduced numerous procedural innovations for the benefit of the Competition Council: the latter may enter into transactions with sanctioned companies, or make use of leniency procedures 19.
The law 2003-706 of August 1, 2003 of Financial Security integrates the control of bank mergers in the common competition law, by giving the Minister of Economy and when asked for an opinion to the Council competition, the authority to deal with competition problems that would arise for bank mergers 20.