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The "Conseil constitutionnel" (French Constitutional Council), on the occasion of the control of the "Loi de finance rectificative" (amending finance law) adopted, may make rules relating to the regulation. Thus, a Senate amendment had slipped into legislation a tax of 5% on the resale of a television channel, when it had been obtained by the purchaser on account of the assignment for the benefit of a licence conferred by the State free of charge. The provision is considered non-compliant with the Constitution in that it does not have enough in connection with the organization of the finances of the State and that it pursues another goal: here to avoid that an operator plays with the mechanisms of regulation for purely financial purposes. This struggle by the Council against the "legislative cavaliers" didn’t mean that a measure of this type is later taken by a law, since such concern can be justified.

Full reference: Frison-Roche, M.-A., From Competition Law to Compliance Law: example of French Competition Authority decision on central purchasing body in Mass Distribution, Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance, Regulation, 27th of October 2020

Read by freely subscribing the other news of the Newsletter MAFR - Law, Compliance

 

 

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Summary of the news: Through its decision of 22nd of October 2020, the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority) accepted the commitments proposed by retail sector's firms Casino, Auchan, Metro and Schiever so that their agreement by which a common body centralizes purchases from numerous retailers, allowing each to offer these products under private label, is admissible with regard to competitive requirements. 

In this particular case, the Authority had self-sized in July 2018, estimating that such a purchase center could harm competition, opening immediately a large consultation on the terms of the contract. In October 2018, the law Egalim permitted to the Authority to take temporary measures to suspend such a contract, what the Authority did from September. 

The convention parties' firms committed on the one hand to update their contract limiting the power on suppliers, especially small and very small suppliers, excluding totally of the field of the contract some kind of products, especially food products and reducing the share of bought products volume dedicated to their transformation in distributor brand. 

The Autorité de la concurrence accepts this proposal of commitments, congratulates itself of the protection of small suppliers operating like that and observe the similarity with the contract consisting in a purchase center between Carrefour and Tesco, which will be examined soon. 

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We can draw three lessons of this innovating decision, which could be a model for after: 

1. The technique of Compliance Law permits to the Autorité de la concurrence to find a reasonable solution for the future. 

• Indeed, rather than punishing much later by a simple fine or to annihilate the performing mechanism of the purchase center, the Authority obtains contract modifications. 
• The contract is structured and the obtained modifications are also structural. 
• The commitments are an Ex Ante technique, imposed to operators, for the future, in an equilibrium between competition, operators and consumers protection and the efficacy of the coordination between powerful operators. 
• The nomination of a monitor permits to build the future of the sector, thanks to the Ex Ante nature of Compliance Law. 

2. The retail sector finally regulated by Compliance technics.

• "Distribution law" always struggle to find its place, between Competition law and Contract Law, especially because we cannot consider it as a common "sector". 
• The Conseil constitutionnel (French constitutional court) refused a structural injunction power to the authority because it was contrary to business freedom and without any doubt ethics of business is not sufficient to the equilibrium of the sector.
• Through commitments given against a stop of pursuits relying on structuring contracts, it is by Compliance law that a Regulation law free of the condition of existence of a sector could leave.

3. The political nature of Compliance law in the retail sector

• As for digital space, which is not a sector, Compliance law can directly impose to actors imperatives that are strangers to them. 
• In the digital space, the care for fighting against Hate and for protecting private life; here the care for small and very small suppliers. 

 

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See in counterpoints the pursuit of a contentious procedure against Sony, whose the proposals of commitments, made after a public consultation, were not found satisfying.

To go further, on the question of Compliance law permitting through indirect way the rewriting by the Conseil of a structuring contract (linking a platform created by the State to centralize health data with an American firm subsidy to manage them).

What reference costs should be used to regulate access?

Regulating Access to Stimulate Competition in Postal Markets

The British want to be first in the upcoming digital economy. 

That is why a draft 'Digital Economy' bill has been introduced.

This crucial text, that has been prepared by the Department for Culture, Media and Sports, contains six parts.   

Translated Summaries

In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors

ENGLISH

Thematic Report (Media): The French Competition Authority orders the separation of TPS / Canalsatellite and VIVENDI / Canal + following infringement of the terms of their prior merger clearance

On September 20, 2011, the Autorité de la Concurrence (French Competition Authority) examined whether VIVENDI, Universal, and Canal + had respected the remedies they had made in order to obtain merger clearance during their acquisition of TPS and Canalsatellite. This clearance had been granted by the Minister of the Economy on August 30, 2006, on the condition that remedies be made by the acquirers. In 2009, the Competition Authority unilaterally decided to review whether these remedies were kept. Its decision of 2011 ruled that certain remedies were not kept and ordered the breakup of the new entity and the payment of a fine. In doing so, the Competition Authority behaves as though it were a regulator.

ITALIAN

Relazione tematica (Mass-media): L’autorità francese garante della concorrenza ha ordinato la separazione di TPS/Canalsatellite e VIVENDI/Canal + per violazione degli impegni presi nella precedente autorizzazione di fusione

Il 20 settembre 2011 la “Autorité de la Concurrence” (l’autorità francese garante della concorrenza) ha verificato se VIVENDI, Universal e Canal + avevano rispettato gli impegni presi per ottenere la precedente autorizzazione di fusione durante l’acquisto di TPS e Canalsatellite. Questa autorizzazione era stata concesso dal Ministro dell’Economia durante il mese di Agosto 2006, sulla base degli impegni presi dalle società. Nel 2009, l’autorità garante della concorrenza ha unilateralmente deciso di verificare se questi impegni erano stati rispettati. Nella sua decisione del 2011, l’autorità ha deciso che alcuni di questi impegni non erano stati rispettati ed ha ordinato lo scioglimento della nuova entità ed il pagamento di una multa. Così facendo, l’autorità garante della concorrenza si comporta come un’autorità di regolazione.

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Other translations forthcoming.