Legal Framework

The Protection of Competition Law of 2008 and 2014 in conjunction with the Control of Concentrations of Enterprises Law 83(Ι)/2014 set out the rules and principles of competition law relating to antitrust enforcement and mergers and acquisitions control that have as an objective the maintenance of effective competition within the Cypriot market.

Law 83(I)/2014 replaced and repealed the Control of Concentrations Between Undertakings Laws of 1999 and 2000. Some of the most important changes which were introduced were as follows:

1. obligatory notification when at least two of the participating undertakings engage in commercial activities in Cyprus
2. abolishment of the one-week notification rule
3. change of the compatibility test
4. notion of effect in other markets
5. new powers for collection of data and information
6. new Annex for the submission of remedies
7. possibility of voluntary waiver of confidentiality
8. notification fees

Furthermore, the Council of Ministers has issued several decrees clarifying matters relating to the application of the legal framework to certain categories of markets.

The Commission for Protection of Competition (the CPC) is the administrative body with the exclusive competence to enforce the provisions of Competition Law 2008 and 2014 as well as Law 83(I)/2014. In addition, CPC is the sole authority in Cyprus responsible for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 on the implementation of the rules on competition and of articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU ('TFEU').

CPC’s Competence

According to section 21(2) of the Protection of Competition Law CPC has the exclusive competence to (inter alia):

1. investigate and take decisions on the infringement of sections 3 and/or 6 of the Law and of Articles 101 and/or 102 TFEU,
2. decide whether all the conditions of section 4 of the Law are met so that an agreement, decision, and concerted practice which falls under section 3(1) of the Law is valid,
3. decide whether all the conditions of Articles 101(3) TFEU are met so that an agreement, decision, and concerted practice which falls under Article 101 TFEU is valid,
4. decide whether the concerted practice for which an Order has been requested pursuant to section 5(1) of the Law, falls within the category of the concerted practices provided for in the Order and thus section 3 of the Law does not apply,
5. decide whether the concerted practice for which there is an invocation of the Community Regulation, pursuant to section 5(2) of the Law, falls within the category of the concerted practices provided for in the Community Regulation,
6. decide on interim measures under the provision of article 28,
7. impose terms and behaviour and /or structural remedies, according to the infringement, necessary to bring the infringement to an end.

In addition, the CPC is the competent authority for ensuring the implementation of Sections 6, 8, 9, 10 (1) to (3), 11 and 12 of the Regulation (EU) 2015/571 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions.

Challenging the CPC’s decision

The CPC, being an administrative body, is bound by administrative law.

Accordingly, its decisions can be contested before the Administrative Court under section 146 of the Constitution of Cyprus within 75 days of having been notified of the decision.

Law 113(I)/2017 and Right to Damages

A claimant can recover in the context of a private civil action any damage suffered because of a breach of sections 3 and/or 6 of the Protection of Competition Law and articles 101 and/or 102 of TFEU.

Law 113(I)/2017 which transposes Directive 2014/104/EU on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law into Cyprus law ensures that anyone who has suffered harm as a result of an infringement of the competition law by an undertaking or by an association of undertakings can claim full compensation for that harm.

Full compensation shall be deemed to be the restoration of the injured party to the situation he/she would have been in if the infringement of competition law had not taken place.

A final infringement decision of the CPC shall create an irrebuttable presumption in a claim for damages before a civil Court. A final infringement decision issued in another Member State may also be submitted before the Court as prima facie evidence of an infringement of competition law and may be evaluated in parallel with any other evidence presented by the parties.

What is next?

In May 2020, the CPC launched a public consultation involving discussions on a proposed legislation on the protection of competition of 2021 which will replace the laws on the Protection of Competition of 2008 and 2014.

The new law will transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1 of 11 December 2018 aiming to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market into Cyprus law.

In the context of the aforementioned EU Directive Member States must ensure that the national competition authorities “have the necessary guarantees of independence, resources, and enforcement and fining powers to be able to effectively apply Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”.

Competition Law: Our services

Economou & Co LLC have extensive experience in various aspects of competition law. Our services include, among others:

• Advice on all aspects concerning anti-competitive behaviour and competition law in general, such as merger control, abuse of dominance, cartel investigations etc.
• Representation before the CPC and before the competent Courts in Cyprus in the context of private actions or recourses.
• Advice and support in respect to the drafting and filing of notifications on proposed concentrations with CPC.
• Assistance with state-aid matters and complaints.