Use of the received information

Use of the received information

Information received from other Network members in accordance with Article 12 can be used in evidence by the Commission like any other information in the Commission's possession, with the following exceptions, limitations and procedural rules.

More about Use of the received information

Article 12 requires that the use should take place in respect of the subject-matter for which it was collected by the transmitting authority.

More about the Subject

According to the Court of Justice it is not necessary “to delimit precisely the relevant market, to set out the exact legal nature of the presumed infringement and to indicate the period during which those infringements were committed” in order to determine the subject matter of a case 1 .

Other Considerations

Another limitation results from the specific rules relating to leniency applications. If the other Network member had obtained the information from a leniency applicant, the Commission cannot use it to start an investigation (see further Module on Leniency).

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Information received from an NCA is covered by professional secrecy (Article 28 Reg. 1/2003).

Resources

See Also

References

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

Notes

[Note 1] Judgment of the ECJ of 17 October 1989, Dow Benelux NV, Case 85/87, ECR [1989] p. 3137, paragraph 10.

Further Reading

• Information about Use of the received information in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)