Panama (2006)

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Governed by: Law 29 of February 1, 1996, as amended by Law 9 of February 20,2006 (hereinafter referred to as “Competition Act”)

Category	Subcategory	Score	Comment
Scope	Extraterritoriality	1	Article 2 states that the scope of the law extends to all acts or practices having an effect in Panama, regardless of where they develop.
Remedies	Fines	1	Article 27 allows for treble damages plus costs and Article 112 dictates fines for various violations of the Act.
	Prison Sentences	0
	Divestitures	1	Article 26(2) allows total or partial divestitures of improper mergers.
Private Enforcement	3rd Party Initiation	1	Article 142 gives any affected or concerned person the capacity to file a claim.
	Remedies Available to 3rd Parties	1	Article 142 allows actions seeking compensation for damages.
	3rd Party Rights in Proceedings	0
Merger Notification	Voluntary	1	Article 20 allow for voluntary notification of concentrations.
	Mandatory	0
	Pre-merger	2	Article 20 allows for voluntary notification of concentrations before realization. The Competition Authority has 3 years to challenge any realized concentrations of which it was not voluntarily notified beforehand (Article 22).
	Post-merger	0
Merger Assessment	Dominance	0
	Restriction of Competition	1	Article 19 prohibits mergers that have the effect of impeding competition.
	Public Interest (Pro D)	0
	Public Interest (Pro Authority)	0
	Other	0
	Efficiency	0
Dominance	Limits Access	1	Article 14(e) prohibits “unilateral action consisting in refusing to sell or provide, to certain persons, goods or services.”
	Abusive Acts	0
	Price Setting	1	Article 14(b) prohibits prices setting.
	Discriminatory Pricing	1	Article 8 prohibits discriminatory pricing.
	Resale Price Maintenance	1	Article 14(b) prohibits resale price maintenance
	Obstacles to Entry	1	Article 14(g) prohibits predatory actions taken to prevent a potential competitor from entering the market.
	Efficiency Defense	1	All the relative monopolistic practices (Articles 8 and 14) can be allowed when they are justified in terms of economic efficiency.
Restrictive Trade Practices	Price Fixing	1	Article 11(a) of the Act prohibits price fixing.
	Tying	1	Article 14(c) prohibits tying arrangements.
	Market Division	1	Article 11(c) prohibits market division.
	Output Restraint	1	Article 11(b) prohibits output restraint.
	Market Sharing	1	Article 14(a) prohibits market sharing.
	Eliminating Competitors	1	Article 14(g) prohibits predatory actions taken to squeeze a competitor out of a market.
	Collusive Tendering/Bid-Rigging	1	Article 11(d) prohibits bid rigging.
	Supply Refusal	0
	Efficiency Defense	1	All the relative monopolistic practices (Articles 8 and 14) can be allowed when they are justified in terms of economic efficiency.