Italy (August 4, 2006)

Score = 23

Governed by:

Law no. 287 of October 10th, 1990 - Competition and Fair Trading Act (Official Gazette no. 240 of 13 October 1990)

Law no. 481 of November 14th, 1995 (Section 2) - Competition rules and regulation of public utilities. The establishment of the regulatory Authorities (Supplement no. 136 to the Official Gazette no. 270 of 18 November 1995)

Law no. 52 of February 6th, 1996 (Section 54) - Obbligations deriving from Italian membership in the European Community (Supplement no. 24 to the Official Gazette no. 34 of 10 February 1996)

Presidential Decree no. 217 of April 30th, 1998 - Procedure regulations that guarantee to the parties full knowledge of the acts, and minutes taken during hearings, with regard to the activities of the Authority (Official Gazette no. 158 of 9 July 1998)

Law no. 57 of March 5th, 2001 (Section 11) - Provisions governing the opening and regulation of markets (Official Gazzette no. 66 of 20 March 2001)

Legislative Decree no. 28 of January 22nd, 2004 (Section 26) - Reform of the rules concerning the film industry (Official Gazzette no. 29 of 5 February 2004)

Law no. 262 of December 28th, 2005 (Sections 19-22) - Provisions on safeguarding of savings and rules concerning financial markets (Supplement no. 208 to the Official Gazette no. 301 of 28 December 2005)

AGCM Resolution no. 16015 of October 12th, 2006 - Implementation procedures for article 14 ter of law no. 287/90 - Notice - Form relating to the presentation of commitments. (Bullettin no. 39 of 16 October 2006)

AGCM Resolution no. 16218 of Decembre 14th, 2006 - Procedures for article 14 bis of law no. 287/90 - Notice - (Bullettin no. 48 of 18 December 2006)

AGCM Resolution no. 16472 of February 15th, 2007 - Resolution on the non-imposition and reduction of penalties by section 15 ter of law no. 287/90 - Notice (bullettin no. 6 of 26 February 2007)

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title IV, Section 25(2) implies that scope extends to foreign corporations.
Remedies	Fines	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title II, Chapter III, Section 19 imposes fines for violations of the Act, or for failure to comply with violation remedies ordered by the Competition Authority.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title II, Chapter III, Section 18(3) permits the Competition Authority to require corrective measures that will restore effective competition.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title II, Chapter II, Section 12(1) allows any interested party to bring infringements to the attention of the Competition Authority. Law No. 57 of 5 March 2001, Section 11(3-bis) permits the Competition Authority to investigate complaints filed by third parties regarding abuses of economic dependence that may affect competition or a free market.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	0
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	0
Merger Notification	Voluntary	0
	Mandatory	3	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title II, Chapter III, Section 16(1) requires mandatory notification to the Authority of mergers of undertakings whose value or combined values exceed certain levels, which are adjusted each year for inflation.
	Pre-merger	2	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title II, Chapter III, Section 16(1) requires notification prior to merger, if the value of the merging undertakings, or their combined value, exceeds set levels that are adjusted annually for inflation.
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	1	Market dominance is considered before mergers are approved. If a merger will result in market dominance, it may not be approved, or the Competition Authority may require measures designed to prevent the merger from abusing its dominant position.
	Restriction of Competition	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Chapter I, Section 6(1) requires that the Competition Authority consider whether a merger will result in the restriction of competition, when deciding whether to approve the merger.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Chapter I, Section 8(2) states that undertakings which operate by law for the general economic interest, or in a state-authorized monopoly, are exempt from the anti-competition measures of this law, but only if that is necessary for the provision of those services.
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	1	Undertakings which operate by law for the general economic interest, or in a state-authorized monopoly must still submit notification to, and receive approval from, the Competition Authority before any merger. An undertaking must form a separate company to conduct trade in a market not covered by its competition exemption. Undertakings that are exempt from anti-competition measures which provide services to their subsidiaries or controlled companies must provide the same terms and other conditions to competitors. When exemption from anti-competition measures is done for purposes of public order, public safety, national defense, or telecommunications, businesses may not be able to produce their own services internally except if a government franchise is granted.
	Other	0
	Efficiency	0
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Section 2(2)(b) forbids use of dominant position to limit market access.
	Abusive Acts	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Section 3(1) prohibits abuse of a dominant position within the domestic market, or a substantial part of it.
	Price Setting	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(a) and 3(1)(a) prohibit price setting.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(d) and 3(1)(c) forbid applying dissimilar conditions for equivalent transactions.
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(a) and 3(1)(a) prohibit directly or indirectly fixing or imposing prices.
	Obstacles to Entry	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(b) and 3(1)(b) prohibit obstacles to market access.
	Efficiency Defense	0
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(a) and 3(1)(a) prohibit directly or indirectly fixing or imposing prices.
	Tying	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(e) prohibits tying.
	Market Division	1	Competition | Agreements Restricting Freedom of Competition.
	Output Restraint	1	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Sections 2(2)(b) and 3(1)(b) prohibit output restraint.
	Market Sharing	0
	Eliminating Competitors	0	Law no. 287 of 10 October 1990, Title I, Chapter I, Section 6(1) requires that the Competition Authority consider whether a merger will result in the elimination of competition in general, but not existing competitors specifically. The Authority must consider market access, ease of market entry, and several other factors related to the structure of that market and the future of competition in that market.
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	0
	Supply Refusal	0
	Efficiency Defense	0