GEO 170/2020 on actions for damages for infringements of the competition law provisions, as well as amending and supplementing Competition Law No. 21/1996
The Emergency Ordinance regulating the mechanism and procedures whereby the natural or legal persons that suffered harm as a result of anticompetitive acts may claim compensation before the courts of law (“GEO 170/2020”) was published in the Official Journal of Romania No. 952 as of 16 October 2020.
GEO 170/2020 also includes amendments and supplementations to Competition Law No. 21/1996 (“Competition Law”).
In the context of the adoption of Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union (the “Directive”), the Romanian Government adopted Government Emergency Ordinance No. 39/2017 (“GEO 39/2017”) on actions for damages for infringement of the competition law provisions, and for amending and supplementing Competition Law No. 21/1996. Further to the submission of notices of unconstitutionality, the Constitutional Court of Romania found, under Decision No. 239/2020, that GEO 39/2017 and the Law for the approval thereof were unconstitutional, in their entirety, for failure to apply for the opinion of the Economic and Social Council.
Thus, the adoption of GEO 170/2020 removed the risk of the European Commission initiating new infringement proceedings against Romania.
The provisions previously included in GEO 39/2017 were either retrieved as such in GEO 170/2020 or amended.
To read the entire legal bulletin, please download the .pdf attached or visit http://www.tuca.ro/legal_bulletin/