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After the term established in article 20 has expired, and whether or not the service of the procedure upon the interested parties was effected, the Tribunal may

Dans le document HANDBOOK ON COMPETITION LEGISLATION (Page 141-146)

SECTION I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 22.- After the term established in article 20 has expired, and whether or not the service of the procedure upon the interested parties was effected, the Tribunal may

summon the parties to a conciliation hearing. If it is not considered pertinent to do so, or if said procedure has failed, the Tribunal shall set a twenty working days period for the submission of evidence. In the event that the conciliation has been reached, the Tribunal shall give its approval, provided that it does not infringe free competition. The appeal referred to in article 27 can be brought against the resolution that approves conciliation, by people who are allowed to litigate and who were not parties to such conciliation.

The type of evidence indicated in article 341 of the Civil Procedure Code shall be admissible, as shall any indication or background information that, in the opinion of the Tribunal, is suitable for establishing the pertinent facts. The Tribunal may instruct, at any stage of the case, even after the hearing when it turns out to be indispensable for clarifying those facts that still appear to be obscure and doubtful, the practice of the evidentiary proceedings that are deemed necessary.

Parties who desire to render testimony shall present a list of witnesses within five working days counted from the issuance of the resolution that sets the evidence submission period. In any case, for controversial facts, declarations by only three witnesses from each party shall be admitted, unless the Tribunal, upon justified request made when submitting the list of witnesses, increases said number. The provisions in articles 358, 360 sub-section 2, 373, 374, 376,

377 and 378 of the Civil Procedure Code shall not be applicable to the witnesses.

Proceedings that arise from personal inspection by the Tribunal, declarations of a party, and testimony of witness, shall be performed before the member appointed by the Tribunal in each case, who may ask any questions he deems suitable, prevent declarations and questions of the parties that deviate to irrelevant or inadmissible matters, and outright resolve the objections.

Probatory proceedings that must be performed outside the territory of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago may be conducted through the relevant local judge, guaranteeing his faithfulness and rapid performance by any suitable mean. Other proceedings shall be practiced through the staff officer of the Tribunal who is designated for that purpose.

The Tribunal shall keep a complete record of all hearings that have taken place, by any method that ensures their reliability.

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Instrumental proof may be presented up to ten days prior to the date set for the hearing of the case. Upon request by a party, the Tribunal may decree that access to those instruments that contain formulas, strategies or trade secrets or any other element which dissemination could significantly affect the competitive performance of the titleholder be restricted from third parties who are foreign to the process, or that they be kept confidential from the other party. Instruments of a restricted or confidential nature by virtue of the provision in the second paragraph of subsection a) of article 39, shall always be submitted as such by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, and the Tribunal shall keep them restricted and confidential.

Without prejudice to the above, at any stage of the process and even as a means for better resolving the case, the Tribunal may order the relevant party, ex officio or upon request of the party, to prepare a public version of the document so that other parties may exercise their right to object to it or to observe it.

If the above-mentioned public version is insufficient as valid information for ruling on the case, the Tribunal may decree, ex-officio and by a justified resolution, the declassification of the document, and shall instruct that it be disclosed to the other parties.

The Tribunal shall assess the evidence according to the rules of logic and acquired knowledge of the Tribunal.

Article 23.- Once the probatory term expires, the Tribunal shall declare so, and shall set the date and time for the hearing. The Tribunal shall hear pleadings from the parties’

attorneys when requested by any of them.

Article 24.- Subordinate issues to the main matter, except for that which is stipulated in the following Article, shall be resolved outright by the Tribunal, although it may decide on them at the time of issuing its final ruling.

Article 25.- The Tribunal may, at any stage of the trial or prior its commencement, decree all precautionary measures needed to avoid the negative effects of the conduct subject of the complaint and to safeguard the common interest, for the time deemed necessary. The adoption of these measures shall be notified to the parties, who may challenge them, and if so, this incident will be dealt with in accordance to the general rules and in a separate file.

The measures decreed shall be provisional and may be modified or set aside at any stage of the case. In order to resolve them, the petitioner shall attach background information that at least constitutes a serious presumption of the right claimed or of the facts reported.

The Tribunal, when it deems it necessary, may require collateral from the particular actor to respond for the damages caused.

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The resolution that grants or denies a precautionary measure shall be served by mail by a certified letter, unless the Tribunal orders, for justified reasons that it be served by substituted service. Should the measure be granted pre-judicially, the prosecutor or the petitioner shall file the formal complaint or the demand within a period of twenty working days or a greater term set by the Tribunal, counted from the notification of the measure. Otherwise, the measure shall cease to have effect.

However, the measures may be enforced without prior service on the person against whom they are directed, provided that there are serious reasons for doing so, and that the Tribunal so decrees. In this case, if five days have elapsed without the service being performed, the proceedings carried out will be void. The Tribunal may extend this time limit for justified reasons.

Without prejudice to the above paragraphs, Sections IV and V of Book II of the Civil Procedure Code shall not apply with regard to prejudicial and precautionary measures dictated by the Tribunal, except for the provisions in articles 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 284, 285, 286, 294, 296 and 297 of said body of law, in as much as they may be applicable.

Article 26.- The final ruling shall be grounded, and shall state the fact, law, and economic fundaments on which is based. Express mention shall be made of the bases of the minority votes, if there are any. This decision shall be pronounced within the period of forty-five days as of the moment no further procedures are pending before the Tribunal.

In its judgment, the Tribunal may adopt the following measures:

a) Modify or terminate acts, contracts, agreements, systems or pacts that are contrary to the provisions of this law;

b) Order the modification or dissolution of companies, corporations and other private entities that were involved in the acts, contracts, agreements, systems or pacts referred to in letter a) of this paragraph. ;

c) Impose fines up to an amount equivalent to twenty thousand annual tax units and, in the case of sanctioning the conduct mentioned in sub-section a) of Article 3, up to an amount equivalent to thirty thousand UTA3. The fines may be imposed on the relevant legal entity, its directors, administrators, and on any person who was involved in the execution of the relevant conduct. Fines applied to private individuals may not be paid by the legal entity wherein he/she carried out his/her duties, nor by the shareholders or partners thereof. Also, they may not be paid by any other entity that belongs to the same company group in the terms indicated in Article 96 of the Securities Market Law, nor by their shareholders or

3 The UTA is a currency legally defined for tax purposes. It corresponds to the UTM’s value in the last month of the commercial year, multiplied by 12. The value of one UTA is approximately US$867 as at December 2009

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partners. In the case of fines applied to legal entities, the directors, administrators and those persons who benefited from the relevant conduct shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment, provided they participated in such conduct.

The following circumstances, among others, shall be considered in determining the fines:

the economic benefit obtained from the violation, the seriousness of the behaviour, the violator’s condition of being recidivist, and for the purposes of decreasing the fine, the collaboration that he/she provided to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office before or during the investigation.

Article 27.- Decisions pronounced by the Competition Tribunal, except for the final ruling, shall be susceptible to challenge before the same Tribunal. Such dispute may be heard in an incidental proceeding or be decided immediately.

The final ruling that imposes some of the measures contemplated in Article 26 shall be subject to appeal for reversal before the Supreme Court, and also that which dismisses such measures. Said appeal shall be grounded and may be filed by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office or by any of the parties, before the Competition Tribunal within a period of ten working days following the relevant notification. This term shall be extended with the respective increase afforded when the place where the affected parties have their domicile is different from the Tribunal’s head office, in accordance with the table referred to in Article 259 of the Civil Procedure Code.

In order to proceed with the appeal, the appearance of the parties will not be necessary.

The appeal will be heard with preference to other issues, and suspension of the hearing of the case shall not proceed due to the reason provided in sub-section 5 of Article 165 of the Civil Procedure Code.

The filing of an appeal shall not suspend the execution of the ruling, except in relation to the payment of fines. However, upon petition of a party and by means of a grounded resolution, the Court Chamber that hears the appeal may suspend the effects of the ruling, totally or partially.

Article 28.- Execution of the resolutions pronounced by virtue of this procedure shall correspond directly to the Competition Tribunal, which shall, for these purposes, have the authority of a Court of Justice.

Fines imposed by the Competition Tribunal shall be paid within the first ten working days following the date on which the relevant resolution is final.

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If the period expires and the affected party does not prove the payment of the fine, the Tribunal shall ex-officio or at the request of a party, compel the payment in the manner provided for in Article 543 of the Civil Procedure Code4.

Article 29.- The regulations contained in Books I and II of the Civil Procedure Code shall be supplementary to the procedure mentioned in the preceding articles, in everything that is not incompatible with it.

Article 30.- The damage claim that may result from the anticompetitive conduct judged as such by a final ruling of the Competition Tribunal, shall be filed in the competent civil court according to the general rules, and shall be handled according to the summary proceedings established in Book III Title XI of the Civil Procedure Code.

The competent civil court, when ruling on the damage claim, shall base its ruling on the conduct, actions and legal classification thereof, as established by the decision of the Competition Tribunal.

Article 31.- The exercise of the attributions referred to in sub-sections 2) and

3) of Article 18, as well as the issuance of the reports entrusted to the Tribunal by virtue of special legal provisions, shall be subject to the following procedure:

1) The decree that opens the procedure shall be published in the Official Gazette and on the Internet website of the Tribunal, and shall be notified, by a written official communication, to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, to authorities who are directly affected and economic agents who, in the Tribunal’s sole judgment, are related to the matter, in order that they, and those who have a legitimate interest, within a period of not less than fifteen working days, may contribute relevant information.

When the issue concerns specific geographic areas, the Tribunal may order that the notification also be done by means of a publication in the relevant local newspapers.

The Tribunal shall always provide the necessary conditions such that all intervening parties may examine the file.

2) Once the above period expires, those who executed or entered into, or intend to execute or enter into such acts or contracts, may evaluate the recommendations the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office made during the contribution of information period and communicate in writing their agreement with them to the Tribunal.

4 The Tribunal may order that the offender be arrested for up to 15 days or impose the payment of a proportional fine. The Tribunal may re-impose these measures to compel the offender to comply with the original measure.

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3) After the term indicated in sub-section 1 expires, the Tribunal shall call a public hearing, which will take place within a period of not less than fifteen days nor greater than thirty days as of the notification, which shall be made by means of a publication in the Official Gazette and on the Tribunal’s Internet website, so that those who contributed information may express their opinion.

In the event that the communications indicated in sub-section 2 are received, the Tribunal shall have a period of fifteen days, as of the reception of said communication, to call a public hearing, which shall be carried out in accordance with the preceding paragraph.

4) If the authorities, entities or people referred to in the above sub-sections do not supply information within the time limits set by the Tribunal, the latter may forgo such information.

5) Ex-officio or upon petition by the interested party, the Tribunal may obtain and receive the information it deems pertinent.

Resolutions or reports issued by the Tribunal on matters referred to in this article shall be subject to challenge before the same Tribunal. The final resolutions, regardless of whether or not they set conditions, may only be subject to the appeal referred to in Article 27. Such appeal shall be grounded and may be filed by the petitioner(s), the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, or any of the third parties that have contributed information in accordance with sub-section 1.

Article 32.- Acts or contracts executed or entered into in accordance with the decisions of the Competition Tribunal, shall not bear liability, except in the event that they were later deemed as contrary to free competition by the same Tribunal, based on new information, and only after the resolution stating this fact is notified or published as the case may be.

In any case, the Judges that concurred in the decision shall not be considered as being disqualified for the new proceedings.

SECTION III

Dans le document HANDBOOK ON COMPETITION LEGISLATION (Page 141-146)