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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Google Shopping: The Saga Continues

Following an antitrust investigation, in 2017 the European Commission had fined Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. a record €2.4 billion for abuse of Google’s dominant position. In brief, it found that Google was self-preferencing, by presenting results from its own Google Shopping first upon a so called “Google search”. On appeal to the General Court, the fine was confirmed in 2021. The General Court only accepted part of Google and Alphabet’s argument, namely that there was no negative anti-competitive effect on the market for general search services. Google and Alphabet further appealed the General Court’s judgment to the Court of…
Annalies Muscat
12th January 2024
To Notify or Not to Notify? Merger Control Rules in Malta
Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Should the Gun be Jumped? A Brief Insight into Merger Control in Malta

Merger control constitutes the analysis carried out by the Office for Competition (the ‘Office’) in its assessment of those corporate transactions notifiable to it. The aim behind such an assessment is for the Office to consider whether that transaction – taking the form of the creation of a ‘concentration’ – is likely to impede effective competition. The Control of Concentration Regulations1 identify three types of concentrations: mergers, when two or more undertakings previously independent of one another fuse together resulting in an amalgamated new entity. acquisition of control, which consists of the acquisition of (in)direct control in an undertaking either…
Laura Spiteri
28th February 2023
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Corporate and M&A

Constitutional Court Confirms that Cases of a Criminal Nature have to be Heard by a Court at Every Stage of the Proceedings

This article was written by Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri. On the 8 October 2018, the Constitutional Court handed down its decision in Thake et vs Electoral Commission et.The main issue in this case was whether the procedure laid down in the Financing of Political Parties Act ('the Act') violates Article 39 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the European Court of Human Rights ('the ECHR'). The plaintiff political party had filed a case before the First Hall in its Constitutional jurisdiction arguing that the functions of the Electoral Commission ('the Commission') as an investigator and judicial…
Annalies Muscat
18th October 2018
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Corporate and M&A

Constitutional Court Confirms that Cases of a Criminal Nature have to be Heard by a Court at Every Stage of the Proceedings

This article was written by Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri. On the 8 October 2018, the Constitutional Court handed down its decision in Thake et vs Electoral Commission et.The main issue in this case was whether the procedure laid down in the Financing of Political Parties Act ('the Act') violates Article 39 of the Constitution and Article 6 of the European Court of Human Rights ('the ECHR'). The plaintiff political party had filed a case before the First Hall in its Constitutional jurisdiction arguing that the functions of the Electoral Commission ('the Commission') as an investigator and judicial…
Annalies Muscat
18th October 2018
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Antitrust, Competition and TradeLitigation & Dispute Resolution

The Uniformity of ‘Energy Labels’ under EU Law

 The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently delivered a judgment on a preliminary reference relating to the labelling of energy-consuming products, or 'energy labels'. In case c-632/16 the Commercial Court of Antwerp, in Belgium, was faced with the following problem.  The Facts :-Dyson, the applicant, is a Belgian company that markets vacuum cleaners that are not fitted with a dust bag. BSH, the respondent, is a Dutch company that markets conventional vacuum cleaners, under the trade marks Siemens and Bosch, that are fitted with a dust bag. According to Delegated Regulation No 665/2013 all market vacuum…
Mark Soler
3rd September 2018
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Antitrust, Competition and TradeLitigation & Dispute Resolution

The Uniformity of ‘Energy Labels’ under EU Law

 The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently delivered a judgment on a preliminary reference relating to the labelling of energy-consuming products, or 'energy labels'. In case c-632/16 the Commercial Court of Antwerp, in Belgium, was faced with the following problem.  The Facts :-Dyson, the applicant, is a Belgian company that markets vacuum cleaners that are not fitted with a dust bag. BSH, the respondent, is a Dutch company that markets conventional vacuum cleaners, under the trade marks Siemens and Bosch, that are fitted with a dust bag. According to Delegated Regulation No 665/2013 all market vacuum…
Mark Soler
3rd September 2018