Statement of Objections Transmission to third parties

Transmission of Statement of Objections to complainants and other third parties

Pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation 773/2004, “where the Commission issues an SO relating to a matter in respect of which it has received a complaint, it shall provide the complainant with a copy of the non-confidential version of the SO and set a time-limit within which the complainant may make known its views in writing”. This can naturally be done only after a non-confidential version has been produced. Before sending the non-confidential version of the SO, the complainant should have received and returned a confidentiality declaration referred to in paragraph 40 below. A deadline of maximum one month is given for comments on the SO by the complainants.

More about Statement of Objections Transmission to third parties

If other third parties request to be heard and show a sufficient interest, the Commission must inform them in writing of the nature and subject matter of the procedure (Article 13(1) or Regulation 773/2004). This means a summary of the facts and of the legal assessment set forth in the SO. Exceptionally, if deemed appropriate, a copy of the non-confidential version of the SO can be provided to them the same way as to the complainants. 1 When there are several third parties, the principle of equal treatment must be respected and the same form of communication should be used.

More about the Subject

In order to avoid that the complainant or the other third parties justifying a sufficient interest uses this document for other purposes, they will be requested to sign a confidentiality declaration before receiving the non-confidential version of the SO or the summary thereof. It is also important to highlight in the cover letter that the document is communicated only for the purpose of judicial or administrative proceedings for the application of Art. 101/102 TFEU, including proceedings before national courts 2 .

Other Considerations

The observations received from the complainants and other third parties justifying a sufficient interest are submitted to the addressees of the SO, subject to the deletion of business secrets and other confidential information. The purpose of this obligation is to ensure the respect of the rights of defence.

Resources

See Also

References

• Information about Statement of Objections Transmission to third parties in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes

[Note 1] Joint Cases T-213/01 and T-214/01 Österreichische Postsparkasse AG and Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft AG/Commission [2006] ECR II-1601, summary point 4, paragraphs 71-72, 78: “Any applicant or complainant who has shown a legitimate interest thus has the right to receive a non-confidential version of the statement of objections. As regards third parties having a sufficient interest, it cannot be ruled out that the Commission might, without being required to do so, transmit to them a non-confidential version of the statement of objections so that they are in a proper position effectively to send it their comments on the alleged infringements forming the subject-matter of the proceeding in question. Beyond those two scenarios, provision is not made in Regulation No 17 and Regulation No 2842/98 for the Commission to transmit the statement of objections to legal or natural persons other than undertakings against which those objections have been raised.”
[Note 2] See Article 8(2) of Regulation 773/2004; Case T-12/07 R Polimeri v Commission [2007] ECR II-38, paragraphs 53 and 54;”… the transmission is made for the only purpose of the proceedings under Regulation 17 [now Regulation 1/2003], without prejudice to the case-law of the Courts (in particular case T-353/94 Postbank)” ] In Case T-353/94 Postbank [1996] ECR II-945, the General Court ruled that Article 20(1) of Regulation No