Review clause

Review clause

Duration of the commitments – review clause

The duration of commitments may be limited in time. Article 9 of Council Regulation 1/2003 refers to a “specified period”. Commitments should provide that a lasting improvement of the market structure is achieved within a foreseeable timeframe. This can vary significantly from market to market, depending on the reactivity of the markets or the investments needed for certain improvements. Again, the principle of proportionality should be taken into account, i.e. the seriousness of the infringement and the need to remedy the adverse effects appropriately.

More about Review clause

Review clauses, including clauses extending deadlines of the commitments should normally be limited to exceptional circumstances, as provided in the model text for divestiture commitments 1 . Circumstances which are likely or at least possible to occur during the time of the implementation of the commitment should normally be addressed in the commitments themselves and not be left to the review clause. It is worth noting that, in an antitrust case, a review clause as foreseen in the model text would be in addition and without prejudice to the possibility of Article 9(2)(a) of Regulation 1/2003 according to which the addressee can request a re-opening of the proceedings where a material change in the facts has occurred.

Resources

See Also

References

  • Information about Review clause in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes


[Note 1]
See standard clause 34 of the Commissions model text for divestiture commitments, paragraph 34: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/legislation/commitments.pdf

Further Reading

  • Information about Review clause in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)

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