Are Fines Fine? Sanctioning Infringements of the Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices in Hungary
Unfair Commercial Practices The long road to harmonized law enforcement edited by Tihamer Toth Pazmany Press Budapest, 2014
15 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2015
Date Written: November 2, 2013
Abstract
This paper gives an overview about the legal background and the practice of the Hungarian Competition Authority as regards imposing monetary sanctions for misleading advertising and other types of unfair commercial practices. The sometimes unpredictable fluctuation of the level of fines is criticized. It is emphasized that the clear meaning of broadly worded legal prohibitions is essential before sanctions with the aim of deterrence are imposed. Consequently, in some cases where the infringement was not obvious, a less strict approach is advised, whereas for repeat infringers harming a wide range of consumers, personal, in some cases even criminal law liability should be the optimal sanction.
Keywords: unfair commercial practices, misleading advertisement, fines, monetary sanctions, criminal sanctions, repeat infringement, Hungarian Competition Authority, UCP Directive
JEL Classification: K20, K40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation