ABS. 18. Effect of Notification. — If, within the relevant time limits set out in the preceding section, the Commission finds that such an agreement is prohibited under Article 20 and does not fall within the scope of an exemption under paragraph 21 of this Chapter, the Commission may: competition law was newly recognised in Europe in the interwar period, Germany passed its first antitrust law in 1923 and Sweden and Norway passed similar laws in 1925 and 1926 respectively. However, with the Great Depression of 1929, competition law disappeared from Europe and was revived after World War II, when the United Kingdom and Germany, under pressure from the United States, became the first European countries to adopt full-fledged competition laws. At regional level, EU competition law has its origins in the Agreement of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany in 1951 after the Second World War. The agreement was intended to prevent Germany from re-establishing its dominance in coal and steel production, as it was believed that this dominance had contributed to the outbreak of war. Article 65 of the Agreement prohibited cartels and Article 66 provided for concentrations and abuses of dominant positions by undertakings. [35] This was the first time that the principles of competition law had been incorporated into a plurilateral regional agreement and that the trans-European model of competition law had been established. In 1957, competition rules were incorporated into the Treaty of Rome, also known as the EC Treaty, which established the European Economic Community (EEC). The Treaty of Rome made the adoption of competition law one of the main objectives of the EEC by « establishing a system to ensure that competition in the common market is not distorted ». The two key provisions of EU competition law for undertakings have been set out in Article 85, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements subject to certain exemptions, and in Article 86, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position. The Treaty also established principles of competition law for member States, with Article 90 applying to public undertakings and Article 92 containing provisions on State aid.
Merger rules were not included because Member States had not reached consensus on this issue at that time. [36] Article 8. Prohibitions and disqualifications. – Commissioners may not exercise any other function or occupation during their term of office. They may not engage in any profession, directly or indirectly, during their term of office, except as a teacher, participate in a business or be financially interested in a contract or franchise or special privileges granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency or instrument thereof, including Crown and controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They must strictly avoid conflicts of interest in the performance of their duties. They are not qualified to stand in the elections immediately following their termination of office: provided that the election mentioned here is not a barangay election or a Sangguniang Kabataan election. Provided that they are not permitted to appear or practise in person as counsel or representatives in a matter pending before the Board for two (2) years after leaving office. § 31 Fact-finding; Preliminary investigation.
– The Commission, motu proprio, or after the lodging of a complaint examined by an interested party or after referral by a regulatory body, has the sole and exclusive power to initiate and conduct a factual finding or a preliminary investigation for the application of this Law on reasonable grounds. It is important to note that overly inclusive or unclear regulations sacrifice these benefits not only in markets where enforcement authorities or courts are falsely held accountable, but also in other markets. Firms with significant market power generally attempt to structure their business in such a way that they must either avoid liability under Article 2 or even conduct a case under Article 2, as the costs associated with antitrust litigation can be extraordinarily high. .
