Measures delegated by the Commission to the Hearing Officers

Measures delegated by the Commission to the Hearing Officers

In the framework of the Decision of the President of the European Commission of 13 October 2011 on the function and terms of reference of the hearing officer in certain competition proceedings 1 , the Commission has delegated, pursuant to Article 14 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure, to the hearing officer in competition proceedings and by way of a delegation decision of 19 November 2011 2 , powers to adopt on the Commission's behalf and under its responsibility the following measures relating to the implementation of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004, Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings and Commission Regulation (EC) No 802/2004 of 7 April 2004 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings: (a) refusal by the Commission to hear third persons for lack of a sufficient interest (Article 27(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004, Article 18(4) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 16(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (b) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by a party that has exercised its right of access to the file to obtain access to documents of the file that have not been disclosed by the Commission; (c) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by other involved parties within the meaning of Article 11(b) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004 claiming that they have not been sufficiently informed of the objections addressed to the notifying parties (Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (d) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by other involved parties within the meaning of Article 11(b) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004 who have been informed of the objections addressed to the notifying parties to obtain access to documents of the file that have not been disclosed by the Commission (Article 17(2) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (e) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by a complainant who has been informed by the Commission of its intention to reject its complaint pursuant to Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 to obtain access to documents not disclosed by the Commission (Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004); (f) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by an interested third person claiming that it has not been sufficiently informed of the nature and subject matter of the procedure (Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 and Article 16(1) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (g) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by a complainant, in a case to which the settlement procedure applies, claiming that it has not been sufficiently informed of the nature and subject matter of the procedure (Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004); (h) Commission decision refusing a reasoned request by a complainant claiming that it has not received a copy of the non-confidential version of the statement of objections or requesting to obtain information that has not been disclosed to it in the non-confidential version of the SO, with the exception of cases to which the settlement procedure applies (Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004); (i) Commission decision that information acquired or exchanged pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 or Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 does not constitute business secrets or other confidential information and thus can be communicated to other persons or undertakings (Article 28(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 and Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No773/2004 and Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (j) Commission decision that information acquired pursuant to Regulation (EC) Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 or Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 may constitute business secrets or other confidential information but that it be communicated where this is necessary with a view to prove an infringement or for other purposes of the procedure (Article 27(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 and Article 15 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 and Article 17 and 18 (1) to (3) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 and Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 802/2004); (k) Commission decision that information which is in a Commission decision can be published because there is no legitimate interest with regard to the protection of business secrets in respect of such information (Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 and Article 20(2) of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004).

More about Measures delegated by the Commission to the Hearing Officers

For the exercise of these delegated measures, the prior approval of the Legal Service is always required in accordance with Article 23(4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.

Resources

See Also

References

• Information about Measures delegated by the Commission to the Hearing Officers in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes

[Note 1] OJ, L, 275 of 20.10.2011.
[Note 2] The current delegation of powers replaces the former sub-delegation decision (PH/2004/770) of 27 May 2004 and entered into force on 4 June 2004.

Further Reading

• Information about Measures delegated by the Commission to the Hearing Officers in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)