Consultation on Settlement Procedure
The Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 (2022 Act) came into operation in September 2023.
The 2022 Act expands the CCPC’s power to enforce EU and Irish competition law and introduces several significant changes to the competition law enforcement regime in Ireland. This includes empowering the CCPC – through independent adjudication officers – to find that an undertaking has infringed Irish and EU competition law and impose non-criminal financial sanctions for these infringements.
The CCPC has been developing a series of policies and guidelines on the operation of its new powers and responsibilities under the 2022 Act. As part of this process, the CCPC has consulted with stakeholders, inviting submissions from Government Agencies, representative bodies, and other interested parties.
The latest consultation, on the CCPC’s draft Settlement Procedure, is now open and will run from Monday 12th August 2024 until Friday 20th September 2024. The draft policy is now available here – Settlement Procedure (Consultation Draft).
The Settlement Procedure outlines the approach of the CCPC in entering into discussions and agreeing a settlement with an undertaking under investigation for a suspected infringement of competition law. The Settlement Procedure will apply to those investigations pending before the CCPC at the time of or after its publication and in respect of which the CCPC has elected to pursue or is intending to pursue the administrative competition enforcement route.
The consultation process is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide information and different perspectives on the issues involved in preventing infringements and properly enforcing competition law in Ireland. Stakeholder submissions are a vital source of information and views, helping to inform the CCPC’s policies and procedures.
Information on previous consultations is available here Competition law developments in 2022 – CCPC Business. The finalised policies are also available at CCPC Competition Law.
In responding to this consultation, we request that you identify the relevant section and paragraph number before providing your comments and feedback.
Confidentiality of submissions:
Respondents are requested to note that the CCPC may publish the submissions that it receives in response to this consultation on its website. If you consider that any material should be redacted from the public version of your submission, please ensure that such material is clearly indicated in your submission.
Submissions will only be accepted when submitted via email to consultations@ccpc.ie
