Belgium 1999

Score = 18

Governed by: Law on the Protection of Economic Competition of 5 August 1991, amended by Royal Decree of 14 June 1999 (herein after referred to as Competition Act).

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	The Competition Act can be applied to anything that has an effect on the Belgian market.
Remedies	Fines	1	Articles 36, 37, 38, and 40 allow levying fines for certain violations.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	0
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	0
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	0	Nothing saying that damaged 3rd parties cannot file a private tort claim but it is not provided for
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	1	Article 32(2) says that 3rd parties have the right to be heard by the Council if they can demonstrate a sufficient interest.
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Article 10(1) says the concentrations shall be subject to the prior consent of the Competition Council.
	Pre-merger	2	Article 10(1) says the concentrations shall be subject to the prior consent of the Competition Council.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Article 10(2)(b) says that the council must take into account, the market position of the companies.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 10(2)(a) says that the council is to take into consideration the necessity of maintaining effective competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	1	Article 10(6) says that if the public interest justifies it, the Council may permit a concentration which would be otherwise impermissible.
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	0
	Efficiency	1	Article 10(2)(b) requires looking at the effects such a merger would have on economic and technological progress.
Dominance	Limits Access	0
	Abusive Acts	1	Article 2(1) lists several abusive acts which are prohibited.
	Price Setting	1	Article 3(a) prohibits dominant companies from imposing unfair prices.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Article 3(c) prohibits applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions.
	Resale Price Maintenance	0
	Obstacles to Entry	0
	Efficiency Defense	0
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 2(1)(a) of the Competition Act prohibits directly or indirectly fixing prices by individual companies or cartels.
	Tying	1	Article 2(1)(e) and Article 3(d) prohibit tying.
	Market Division	1	Article 2(1)(b) prohibits limiting or controlling production, markets or investment.
	Output Restraint	1	Article 2(1)(b) prohibits limiting production, markets, development, and investment by individual companies or cartels.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 2(1)(c) prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	0
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	0
	Supply Refusal	1	Article 2(1)(b) prohibits limiting production, markets, development, and investment by individual companies or cartels.
	Efficiency Defense	1	Article 2(3) exempts agreements from the Article 2(1) prohibitions if they contribute to improving production or distribution of goods or promote technical or economic progress.