This article considers the potential for changes in the treatment of vertical agreements under South African competition law as a result of recent amendments to the Competition Act, as well as current policy views within the law-makers and regulators. Section 5(1) of the South African Competition Act prohibits vertical agreements that substantially prevent or lessen competition, unless technological, efficiency or other pro-competitive gains arising from the agreement outweigh the anti-competitive effect. This provision is not…

In a recent speech given at the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law Spring Conference, Commissioner of Competition, Matthew Boswell, announced the Bureau’s decision to place more focus on identifying non-notifiable mergers which could potentially raise competition law concerns. While the Competition Act (“the Act”) requires pre-merger notification of certain proposed mergers when prescribed monetary thresholds are exceeded, the Act has application to all mergers, both proposed and recently completed, where such mergers prevent or lessen,…

The Federal Government has announced the creation of a 10-point Digital Charter, which will involve, among other things, updating the Privacy Act. The Digital Charter will outline what Canadians can expect from both the government and the private sector as it relates to the digital landscape. This initiative is geared towards providing greater transparency in the ways that technology companies use personal data that they collect from Canadians. According to Innovation, Science and Economic Development…

During his keynote speech at the Canadian Bar Association’s Competition Law Spring Conference on May 7, 2019, the Commissioner of Competition discussed several important topics, including more active enforcement, a refined approach to the efficiencies defence and greater transparency with merging parties. Each of these developments has significant implications for the merger review process, particularly in the context of complex transactions. More Active Enforcement First, the Commissioner stated that “active enforcement will be an area…

Joint ventures are generally only of interest to competition authorities when they trigger merger notification obligations, or are otherwise used as a platform for collusive or anticompetitive behavior. Recently, the South African competition authorities’ interest has been peeked in joint ventures that have purportedly been used as a platform for cartel activity, and a number of decisions were handed down in 2018. This post answers a number of questions in light of these decisions, and…