Avance Attorneys’ Post

PRESS RELEASE: PCC joins UNCTAD 22nd Session of IGE on Competition Law and Policy Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Commissioner Lolibeth Ramit-Medrano, as the Philippines’ co-head of delegation, together with PCC Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) Assistant Director Michael Kris Ben T. Herrera, attended the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 22nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts (IGE) on Competition Law and Policy on July 3-5, in Geneva, Switzerland. The session included topics such as cross-border cartels, competition law enforcement in digital markets, competition policy and poverty reduction, recent developments in merger control standards, and capacity-building and technical assistance in competition law and policy, among others. The three-day session provided a platform for Member States to discuss, exchange views, and formulate recommendations to enhance international cooperation in competition law and policy. It also facilitated the sharing of best practices, promoting mutual learning on complex issues that are continuously evolving and difficult to navigate, and setting future agendas for global progress in this field. Read more: bit.ly/PCC-UNCTAD22ndIGE #CompetitionPH #CompetitionMatters #mergersandacquisitions

Yesterday, a part of our competition team attended Slovenian Competition Day, organised by Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (#AVK). While Maja Činč and Aljaž Cankar exchanged views and experiences with colleagues and attended the conference passively, our partner Janja Zaplotnik actively participated as a panellist. In the second panel moderated by Gregor Langus, alongside leading experts Lorincz Szabolcs, Nastja Stergar, Kamil Nejezchleb, Janja discussed recent trends in merger review. Of course, the panel touched upon the current hot topic in competition law – 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. Janja highlighted that the Slovenian CPA already has the power to assess transactions below the notification thresholds if the undertakings concerned have a market share of more than 60% on the relevant market in Slovenia. She predicted that the CPA is more likely to use this tool to assess transactions below the notification thresholds that could still have anticompetitive effects and not use competences granted in line with the EJC’s Towercast decision. For more on competition law check our webpage: https://shorturl.at/iWCkG #CompetitionLaw #MergersAndAcquisitions #Antitrust #KillerAcquisitions #SlovenianCompetitionDay #MergerReview #AVK #CompetitionProtectionAgency #LegalInsights #CorporateLaw #CompetitionPolicy #NonReportableTransactions #TowercastDecision #MarketRegulation #SlovenianLaw #JadekPensa #LegalUpdates

🎉 Ending the Year on a High Note! 🎉 As we prepare to wrap up 2024 (and all those "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭" meetings), here’s a resource that will truly add value to your professional toolkit: The 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 - 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 2025 is hot off the press and free to access! 🆓📚 Congrats to our very own Adrian Ster and Raluca Alexandra Maxim, who proudly contributed on behalf of 360Competition with the Romania chapter. 🙌 Whether you're finalizing deals or strategizing for 2025, this guide provides critical insights into: ✅ Notification timelines and their impact on transaction timetables ✅ Remedies, enforcement, and appeals ✅ Substantive assessments across 33 jurisdictions With three expert analysis chapters and contributions from global leaders, it’s the ultimate reference to keep your merger control expertise sharp and up-to-date. Produced in collaboration with Ashurst’s Nigel Parr and Steven Vaz, and many other leading firms, this guide is a must-read for legal and corporate professionals alike. 💼 Start 2025 with confidence—access the guide now! 🎁 🔗 Read the Romania chapter here: https://lnkd.in/dDVMMGs6 Many thanks to International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG) and Global Legal Group! #MergerControl #CompetitionLaw #360Competition #LegalInsights #ICLG2025

💡 Understanding Third-Party Funding in Arbitration 💡 With the advent of the recent amendments to the Malaysian Arbitration Act, Third-party funding (TPF) will soon be more prevalent Malaysia and will transform the local arbitration landscape. Here’s a quick breakdown of how TPF generally works in the context of arbitration: 1. Investor Participation: A third-party funder provides financial support for arbitration proceedings. This usually covers costs like legal fees, expert witness fees and other associated expenses. 💸 2. No Upfront Costs: It is common for the party receiving funding (usually the claimant) to not pay anything upfront. The funder takes on the financial risk. 3. Return on Investment: In return for its investment, the funder receives a portion of the proceeds if the case is successful. This is typically a percentage of the award or settlement amount. 4. Non-Recourse Arrangement: 🏦 If the arbitration is unsuccessful, the claimant typically does not have to repay the funder. The financial risk rests entirely with the third-party funder. 5. Strategic Advantage: ⚖️ TPF allows parties to pursue meritorious claims without the financial burden, providing access to justice and levelling the playing field. ⚖️ 📘 Want to dive deeper into TPF and its implications under the new amendments? Download our comprehensive PDF guide, which we wrote together with Prof. Harald Sippel. #ThirdPartyFunding #LegalFinance #Malaysia 

The European Union signed the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (the "Mauritius Convention on Transparency") at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 2 July 2024. The signature of the Convention by the European Union opens the door to Member States of the European Union to ratify, accede to or approve the Convention. The signature also comes as the Mauritius Convention on Transparency celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of commemorative events organized globally and in conjunction with UNCITRAL Days, an academic series promoting awareness of international trade standards and norms.    The Mauritius Convention on Transparency provides States and regional economic integration organizations with an efficient mechanism for making the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based investor-State Arbitration ("Rules on Transparency") applicable to investment treaties concluded their entry into force on 1 April 2014. The Convention thus supplements pre-existing investment treaties with respect to transparency-related obligations. By becoming a party to the Convention, a State or regional economic integration organization expresses its consent to apply the Rules on Transparency to investor-State arbitration.    The Rules on Transparency are a set of procedural rules that ensure transparency and public accessibility to treaty-based investor-State arbitration. Together with the Rules on Transparency, the Mauritius Convention on Transparency takes into account both the public interest in such arbitrations and the interest of the parties to resolve disputes in a fair and efficient manner. 

The first Supreme Court judicial review of a merger prohibition decision, the annulment of the NCA’s decision to fine Norwegian publishers for exchanges of information and proposals for a market investigation tool for the NCA are some of the highlights within Norwegian competition law in 2023. Within state aid, municipalities continued the trend of using state aid rules to claw back alleged overcompensation, with the Supreme Court issuing a landmark ruling in one such case. Within Public procurement, significant legislative initiatives intended to simplify public procedures were introduced. 2023 also saw the implementation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation which left Norwegian companies in a peculiar third country position, as well as the partial enactment of comprehensive reforms to the National Security Act and it’s investment screening mechanisms. BAHRs EU and competition law group summarizes 2023 👇 Elin Moen Arne Torsten Andersen Beret Sundet Helge Stemshaug Harald K. Selte

A great summary of the interesting and, in many instances, groundbreaking developments that occurred in the Norwegian competition law space in 2023. In particular, this update shows the important role that appeal processes played in challenging the Norwegian Competition Authority's decisions in both anti-trust and merger control. The adverse rulings are already impacting the NCA's decision making in 2024, not least in the high profile 'price hunters' case.

We are delighted to see that earlier this week, a bill to amend the Arbitration Act in Malaysia was tabled, paving the way for third-party funding in arbitration and formally abolishing the rules against champerty and maintenance. The key clause of the bill states: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑-𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑-𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦. This progressive initiative underscores the critical and valuable role that third-party funding plays in dispute resolution and ensuring access to justice. It is poised to enhance the reputation of the Asian International Arbitration Centre and increase the number of disputes referred to Malaysia. The bill also outlines a proposed code of practice, closely mirroring the regulations in Singapore. This includes criteria that third-party funders must meet and measures to prevent conflicts of interest and to ensure the protection of the funded party. We look forward to the positive impact this development will have on the arbitration landscape in Southeast Asia and beyond. #litigationfunding #thirdpartyfunding #arbitration #Malaysia #AIAC

Changes to Canadian Competition Law and Enforcement receive Royal Assent. More than ever it is important to prepare and anticipate potential concerns raised by the Competition Bureau on your merger transactions.

⏰ Please save the date for the upcoming webinar! ⏰