2016 Amendment of the Czech Significant Market Power Act of 2009

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, Vol. 9(14), p. 227-246, 2016

19 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2017

See all articles by Petr Frischmann

Petr Frischmann

Škoda Auto University

Václav Šmejkal

Charles University Law Faculty

Date Written: December 31, 2016

Abstract

The Significant Market Power Act (SMPA) adopted in 2009 regulates the assessment of, and the prevention of, the abuse of market power in the sale of agricultural and food products. The Act generated many controversies from the outset, survived legislative proposals for its abolition, to be finally amended in 2016. However, this kind of legislation failed to solve most of the problems and even managed to create additional controversies. The new amendment formally simplified the actual wording of the SMPA by transposing its numerous earlier appendixes, which contained an exemplary list of prohibited forms of SMP abuse, to the actual text of the Act. It also improved transparency and clarity with respect to its earlier vague and ambiguous terminology. At the same time, the amendment seriously modified the scope and principal philosophy of the SMPA by removing the previously required “substantial detriment to economic competition” as the pre-condition of the applicability of the Act. However, since the enforcement of the SMPA falls into the scope of the activities of the Czech Office for Protection of Economic Competition (in Czech Úřad pro ochranu hospodářské soutěže, UOHS), the concerns and doubts of the business community continue to grow whether this form of regulation is appropriate after the modification of the concept.

Keywords: Significant Market Power, Retail Chains, Protection of Suppliers, Antitrust

JEL Classification: K23, K42

Suggested Citation

Frischmann, Petr and Šmejkal, Václav, 2016 Amendment of the Czech Significant Market Power Act of 2009 (December 31, 2016). Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, Vol. 9(14), p. 227-246, 2016 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3013030

Petr Frischmann

Škoda Auto University ( email )

Na Karmeli 1457
Mladá Boleslav, 293 01
Czech Republic

Václav Šmejkal (Contact Author)

Charles University Law Faculty ( email )

Nam. Curieovych 7
Praha, 11640
Czech Republic

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