Competition Act 2002

• Enactment Date: 10 April 2002
• Act Number: 14

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Number 14 of 2002

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COMPETITION ACT 2002

REVISED

Updated to 15 October 2020

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Competition Act 2002. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020 (16/2020), enacted 14 October 2020, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (Section 31) (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) (Designation) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 455 of 2020), made 15 October 2020, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 14 of 2002

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COMPETITION ACT 2002

REVISED

Updated to 15 October 2020

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Competition Acts 2002 to 2017: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Competition (Amendment) Act 2017 (12/2017), s. 4(2)). The Acts in this group are:

• Competition Act 2002 (14/2002)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2006 (4/2006)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2010 (12/2010)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2012 (18/2012), other than s. 9

• Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 (29/2014), parts 3 and 4

• Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (36/2014), s. 4

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2017 (12/2017)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Migration of Participating Securities Act 2019 (20/2019)

• Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 (34/2017)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2017 (12/2017)

• Workplace Relations Act 2015 (16/2015)

• Companies Act 2014 (38/2014)

• Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (36/2014)

• Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 (29/2014)

• Health (General Practitioner Service) Act 2014 (28/2014)

• National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2014 (23/2014)

• Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (14/2014)

• Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (26/2013)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2012 (18/2012)

• Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011 (27/2011)

• Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011 (10/2011)

• Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010 (36/2010)

• Central Bank Reform Act 2010 (23/2010)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2010 (12/2010)

• Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services and Electronic Communications Infrastructure) Act 2010 (2/2010)

• National Asset Management Agency Act 2009 (34/2009)

• Investment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009 (7/2009)

• Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 (5/2009)

• Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Act 2009 (1/2009)

• Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008 (18/2008)

• Communications Regulation (Amendment) Act 2007 (22/2007)

• Consumer Protection Act 2007 (19/2007)

• Competition (Amendment) Act 2006 (4/2006)

• Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2005 (12/2005)

• Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 (12/2003)

• Communications Regulation Act 2002 (20/2002)

• National Pensions Reserve Fund Act 2000 (33/2000)

• Pensions Act 1990 (25/1990)

• Building Societies Act 1989 (17/1989)

• Central Bank Act 1942 (22/1942)

All Acts up to and including Regulated Professions (Health and Social Care) (Amendment) Act 2020 (16/2020), enacted 14 October 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (Section 31) (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) (Designation) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 455 of 2020)

• Broadcasting (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 372 of 2020)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 39 of 2019)

• European Union (Actions for Damages for Infringements of Competition Law) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 43 of 2017)

• Companies Act 2014 (Section 839) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 147 of 2016)

• European Union (Bank Recovery and Resolution) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 289 of 2015)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 135 of 2013)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 10) (Commencement) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 491 of 2011)

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 34(11)) (National Transport Authority) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 72 of 2011)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 34(11)) (Commission For Taxi Regulation) Order 2009 (S.I. No. 555 of 2009)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 70 of 2009)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard)(Amendment) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 295 of 2008)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 18 (5) and (6)) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 122 of 2007)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 34(11)) (Health Insurance Authority) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 127 of 2005)

• Competition Act 2002 (Commencement) Order 2004 (S.I. No. 196 of 2004)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 34(11))(Director of Consumer Affairs) Order 2003 (S.I. No. 130 of 2003)

• Competition Act 2002 (Notification Fee) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 623 of 2002)

• Competition Act 2002 (Section 18 (5)) Order 2002 (S.I. No. 622 of 2002)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefits) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 279 of 2002)

• Competition Act 2002 (Commencement) Order 2002 (S.I. No. 199 of 2002)

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Funding Standard) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 419 of 1993)

All statutory instruments up to and including Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (Section 31) (Competition and Consumer Protection Commission) (Designation) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 455 of 2020), made 15 October 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 14 of 2002

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COMPETITION ACT 2002

REVISED

Updated to 15 October 2020

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Preliminary and General

Section
1.	Short title.
2.	Commencement.
3.	Interpretation.

PART 2

Competition Rules and Enforcement

4.	Anti-competitive agreements, decisions and concerted practices.
5.	Abuse of dominant position.
6.	Offence in respect of breach of section 4(1) or Article 81(1) of the Treaty.
7.	Offence in respect of breach of section 5(1) or Article 82 of the Treaty.
8.	Penalties and proceedings in relation to offences under sections 6 and 7.
9.	Provisions as respects expert evidence.
10.	Provision of information to juries.
11.	Trial of persons for certain offences by Central Criminal Court.
12.	Presumptions.
13.	Admissibility of statements contained in certain documents.
14.	Right of action for breaches of competition rules.
14A.	Right of action of competent authority.
14B.	Applications to High Court for orders in relation to certain agreements.
15.	Appeal to High Court against declaration under section 4(3).

PART 2A

Competition in Grocery Goods Trade

15A.	Definitions and operation of this Part.
15B.	Anti-competitive conduct in grocery goods trading.
15C.	Right of action for section 15B.

PART 2B

Application of Section 4 to Collective Bargaining and Agreements in respect of Certain Categories of Workers

15D.	Definitions.
15E.	Collective bargaining and agreements in respect of certain categories of workers.
15F.	Prescribed relevant category of self-employed worker.

PART 3

Mergers and Acquisitions

16.

...