Proposals for a Crosssector Competition Law May 2008

Proposals for a Cross-sector Competition Law May 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 Ø 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 ² ² 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 Ø Wide support for CPRC’s recommendations 社會廣泛支持檢討委員會的建議 Ø 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 2

Competition Commission 競爭事務委員會 Ø Independent from the Government 獨立於政府 Ø Investigative and adjudicative powers 調查與審裁權力 Ø 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 Ø Investigation Committee - formal separation between investigation and adjudication 調查小組 － 正式把調查與審裁分開 3

Competition Tribunal 競爭事務審裁處 Ø Full review of Commission decisions 對委員會的裁決進行全面覆檢 Ø 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 Ø 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 Ø 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 4

Conduct rules 行為規則 Ø 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 Ø General prohibition on anti-competitive agreements and concerted practices 概括禁止反競爭協議及一致行動 Ø General prohibition on abuse of substantial market power 概括禁止濫用強大市場力量 5

Merger rules 規管合併的規則 Ø Government is open-minded 政府沒有既定立場 Ø Three options 三個選擇 ² ² ² 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 6

Remedies 補救方法 Ø Civil remedies 民事補救方法 ² ² 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 7

Private Action 私人訴訟 Ø Allow both “follow-on” and “stand-alone” private actions 容許「跟進」及「獨立」私人訴訟 Ø 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 Ø Allow representative action 容許代表訴訟 8

Addressing SMEs’ concerns 消除中小企的疑慮 Ø Government has introduced measures to address SMEs’ concerns 政府已制定措施釋除中小企的疑慮 ² ² Ø 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 9

Relationship with Sector-specific Laws 與規管特定行業法例的關係 Ø The competition law to apply to all sectors 競爭法適用於所有行業 Ø 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 Ø 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 10

Exemptions and exclusions 豁免及豁除 Ø Exemption for agreements on grounds of economic benefit 基於經濟效益理由對協議給予豁免 Ø Exclusion for undertakings on grounds of public interest 基於公眾利益理由對企業給予豁除 ² ² Ø 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 11

Thank You 多謝 12