Proposals for a Cross-sector Competition Law May 2008 跨行業競爭法建議 2008 年 5 月

Proposals for a Cross-sector Competition LawMay 2008跨行業競爭法建議2008年5月 Commerce and Economic Development Bureau商務及經濟發展局

Background 背景 • Recommendations of the Competition Policy Review Committee (CPRC) in June 2006競爭政策檢討委員會（檢討委員會）在2006年6月建議 • A cross-sector competition law跨行業競爭法 • An independent Competition Commission獨立的競爭事務委員會 • Wide support for CPRC’s recommendations社會廣泛支持檢討委員會的建議 • Some stakeholder concerns about higher business costs and excessive litigation (especially from SMEs)部分持分者（特別是中小企）對可能引致營商成本增加及過多訴訟表示關注

Competition Commission競爭事務委員會 • Independent from the Government獨立於政府 • Investigative and adjudicative powers調查與審裁權力 • Two-tier structure – executive overseen by an appointed board兩層架構－由委任人士組成管理局，監督行政機構 • Investigation Committee - formal separation between investigation and adjudication調查小組－正式把調查與審裁分開

Competition Tribunal競爭事務審裁處 • Full review of Commission decisions對委員會的裁決進行全面覆檢 • Judicial members – judges or former judges appointed by the CE on the recommendation of CJ司法成員－法官或前任法官，經終審法院首席法官推薦，由行政長官任命 • Non-judicial members – with expert knowledge of economics, commerce or competition law非司法成員－具備經濟、商業或競爭法專業知識 • Appeal of Tribunal decisions to Court of Appeal on points of law and penalty可對審裁處的裁決，就法律觀點及所判懲罰向上訴法庭上訴

Conduct rules行為規則 • Rules apply to “undertakings” – entities that engage in economic activities規則適用於「企業」－從事經濟活動的實體 • General prohibition on anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices概括禁止反競爭協議及一致行動 • General prohibition on abuse of substantial market power概括禁止濫用強大市場力量

Merger rules規管合併的規則 • Government is open-minded政府沒有既定立場 • Three options三個選擇 • Light-handed approach like the one under the Telecommunications Ordinance與電訊條例相似的較寬鬆做法 • Light-handed approach, but delay commencement until after a review of the effect of the law較寬鬆做法，但延遲至當局檢討法例的效果後才生效 • Not to include merger provisions, and reconsider after a review of the effect of the law不包括規管合併的條文，並在當局檢討法例的效果後再作考慮

Remedies補救方法 • Civil remedies民事補救方法 • Fines of up to 10 million could be imposed by the Commission委員會可判處最高一千萬元的罰款 • Higher fines and disqualification from holding directorship imposed by Tribunal on application of the Commission審裁處應委員會的申請，可判處更高罰款和取消擔任公司董事的資格 • Directions to bring the infringement to an end發出指示，令違法行為停止 • Interim “cease and desist” order issued by the Tribunal on application by the Commission審裁處應委員會的申請，可發出臨時「停止及制止」令

Private Action私人訴訟 • Allow both “follow-on” and “stand-alone” private actions容許「跟進」及「獨立」私人訴訟 • Any person who has suffered loss or damage has standing to commence an action任何蒙受損失或損害的人士均有提出訴訟的權利 • Allow representative action容許代表訴訟

Addressing SMEs’ concerns消除中小企的疑慮 • Government has introduced measures to address SMEs’ concerns政府已制定措施釋除中小企的疑慮 • Appointment of Commission members with SME experience委任具中小企事務經驗的委員會成員 • Commission would not normally pursue an agreement if the total market share of the parties involved was below a certain level, say 20%如協議各方的市場佔有率合計不超過某個水平（如20%），委員會通常不會追究有關協議 • Private cases heard by Tribunal審裁處專責審理私人訴訟 • Commission and Tribunal have the power not to take up vexatious cases委員會和審裁處有權不處理無理取鬧的個案 • In overseas jurisdictions, SMEs have seldom been target of the regulator or subject of litigation by big companies在海外司法管轄區，中小企很少會成為規管機構的目標，或受大公司利用訴訟騷擾

Relationship with Sector-specific Laws 與規管特定行業法例的關係 • The competition law to apply to all sectors競爭法適用於所有行業 • Repeal duplicating provisions in the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Ordinances 廢除電訊條例與廣播條例中與跨行業競爭法重複的條文 • The Telecommunications Authority and the Broadcasting Authority to share jurisdiction with the Competition Commission in their respective sectors除競爭事務委員會外，電訊管理局及廣播事務管理局也可根據競爭法管轄其所負責行業

Exemptions and exclusions豁免及豁除 • Exemption for agreements on grounds of economic benefit基於經濟效益理由對協議給予豁免 • Exclusion for undertakings on grounds of public interest基於公眾利益理由對企業給予豁除 • Services of general economic interest符合普遍利益的經濟服務 • Public policy grounds公共政策理由 • Non-application to the Government or statutory bodies不適用於政府或法定機構

Thank You多謝

Proposals for a Cross-sector Competition Law May 2008 跨行業競爭法建議 2008 年 5 月