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The remunerations regime for the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office’s personnel shall be that of the Regulators and Law Enforcement Institutions

Dans le document HANDBOOK ON COMPETITION LEGISLATION (Page 150-157)

SECTION I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 37.- The remunerations regime for the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office’s personnel shall be that of the Regulators and Law Enforcement Institutions

The allowance established in Article 17 of law Nº 18,091, replaced by Article 10° of law Nº 19,301, shall also be applied to the personnel with permanent and fixed term contracts at the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office, and shall be determined in the manner indicated in said provision. For these purposes, the National Economic Prosecutor shall inform the Ministry of Finance about this matter on an annual basis.

Charged to this allowance, the permanently and the yearly hired personnel of the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office may receive a performance bonus, which shall be governed by the following provisions:

a) The bonus will be paid to 25% of the highest performing staff members during the previous year, and who belong to the rank of Executive Officers, Professionals and Inspectors;

b) For these purposes, qualifications obtained by the staff members will be taken into account, in accordance with the regulations that govern this matter;

c) The amounts paid for this bonus shall not exceed one fourth of the percentages set annually in compliance with paragraph two of Article 17 of Law 18,091, and shall be determined in said administrative act. The same decree shall set the percentage to be received by workers who were not subject to qualification due to their participation in the qualifying process, which will not be considered for the purposes of the limit established in subsection a) of this paragraph;

d) The amounts set according to the above paragraph, plus those due in accordance with the allowance of Article 17 of law Nº 18,091, shall not, in any case, exceed the maximum percentage or proportion stipulated in paragraph two of said provision;

e) Employees who obtain the bonus shall have the right to receive it only during the twelve months following the end of the relevant qualification process;

f) The bonus shall be paid to the workers who are in service at the date of the payment, in four quarterly instalments. The amount to be paid in each instalment shall be the value accrued in the corresponding quarter, and

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g) For tax purposes, it shall be understood that the amount paid in each instalment was accrued in equal parts in each month of the relevant calendar quarter.

Article 38.- Personnel with permanent and fixed term contracts at the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office shall have exclusive dedication to performing their duties in the Service. These posts shall be incompatible with any other function of the State Administration, except for those referred to in sub-section a) of Article 81 of law Nº 18,834. This staff shall not render services as dependent workers or carry out activities inherent to their degree of professional or technical quality for individuals or legal entities that could be subject to action by the Service.

Article 39.- In exercising his functions, the National Economic Prosecutor shall be independent from all authorities and tribunals before whom he acts. He may, therefore, defend the interests entrusted to him in the manner he deems abided by law, according to his own appreciations.

The National Economic Prosecutor shall have the following powers:

a) To open any investigations that he deems necessary to prove violations of this law, notifying this to the affected party. With the knowledge of the President of the Competition Tribunal, the General Directorate of the Chilean Investigation Police shall provide to the National Economic Prosecutor the staff he requires for complying with the task indicated in this subsection or execute the specific proceedings requested with the same purpose.

The National Economic Prosecutor, with the knowledge of the President of the Competition Tribunal, may instruct that investigations that are initiated ex- officio or by virtue of complaints be restricted..

Also, the National Economic Prosecutor may order, ex-officio or at the request of the interested party, that certain parts of the file be restricted or kept confidential, provided that the objective is to protect the identity of those who made the statements or contributed information according to Article

39bis, or that contain formulas, strategies or commercial secrets or any other element the disclosure of which could significantly affect the competitive development of its holder, or to protect the effectiveness of the investigations conducted by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office.

The above notwithstanding the fact that the provisions in paragraph eight of Article 22 be applied in an ongoing process, after the respective notification has been made, or that the Tribunal instructs the handing of copies of the file’s parts that have not been added to the process, eliminating from them all references that could reveal the identities or protected data, as mentioned above.

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The National Economic Prosecutor may instruct that the affected party not be notified of the commencement of an investigation, with the authorization of the Competition Tribunal;

b) To act as a party, representing the general interest of the economic community before the Competition Tribunal and the courts of justice, with all the powers and obligations inherent to that position, with the exception of criminal investigations and cases.

The National Economic Prosecutor may, himself or through a representative, defend or dispute the rulings of the Competition Tribunal before the Supreme Court.

In relation to investigations carried out by Assistant Prosecutors and the charges made by them, the National Economic Prosecutor may make them his own, filing the charges before the Competition Tribunal, or he may dismiss them, presenting a founded report to the Tribunal for this purpose ;

c) To require from the Competition Tribunal the exercise of any of its attributions and the adoption of preventive measures with the occasion of the investigations that the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office is executing.

d) To oversee compliance with decisions, rulings and instructions made by the Competition Tribunal or the courts of justice, on those matters to which this law refers;

e) To issue reports requested by the Competition Tribunal in those cases where the National Economic Prosecutor is not acting as a party;

f) To ask for the collaboration of any officer from public entities and services, from municipalities or companies, entities or corporations in which the State or its companies, entities or corporations, or the municipalities, have any contribution, representation or participation, who are obliged to render it, as well as to provide the information that they have on file and that the National Economic Prosecutor requires from them, even when said information is classified as secret or restricted, according to current legislation, in which case previous authorization from the Tribunal will be required;

g) To ask any office, service or entity referred to in the above subsection, to make available the information deemed necessary for the investigations, accusations or lawsuits in which it is involved or in which it should be involved. The National Economic Prosecutor may also obtain and review all the documentation, accounting elements and others that are deemed necessary;

h) To request from individuals the information and documents deemed necessary in relation to the investigations being conducted. Individuals and the representatives of the legal entities from which the National Economic Prosecutor needs information whose delivery may cause damage to their interests or those of third parties may request the Competition Tribunal to

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dismiss the requirement totally or partially. This request must be justified and shall be submitted to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office within five days following the request made by this authority, whose effects will be suspended from the moment the relevant presentation is carried out. The Competition Tribunal shall hear and resolve said request at its next meeting, with a verbal or written report from the National Economic Prosecutor, and its ruling shall not be susceptible to any kind of appeal;

i) To execute and enter into all kind of acts and contracts regarding assets, which form the Service’s resources, even those that allow encumbering and transferring ownership and reaching settlements regarding rights, actions and obligations. The transactions referred to herein must be approved by resolution of the Ministry of Finance in case their amounts exceed two

thousand UFs5

;

j) To call to testify, or request written testimony, of representatives, administrators, advisors and dependents of the entities or individuals who could have knowledge about acts or agreements that are the object of investigations, and any other person who could have executed and entered into acts or pacts of any kind with them in relation to any fact, knowledge of which is deemed necessary for fulfilling information that is not secret or reserved according to law, to facilitate fulfilment of his duties. Also, and prior founded resolution of the National Economic Prosecutor, he may agree the electronic interconnection with private entities or institutions.

Likewise, he may agree this interconnection with foreign public entities or international organizations, with which he has entered into agreements or memoranda of understanding.

5 The UF (Unidad de Fomento) is Chile's inflation-indexed currency unit.

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n.2) Search and seize all kinds of objects and documents that permit proving the existence of the violation;

n.3) Authorize interception of all types of communications, and

n.4) Order any company that supplies communication services to provide copies and records of communications transmitted or received by them.

The fact of having resorted to the approval mentioned above shall not constitute grounds for disqualifying the Competition Tribunal Judges from hearing the case.

In order to grant the authorization referred to in the first paragraph, the Magistrate of the Court of Appeals shall verify the existence of precise and serious background information regarding the existence of collusion, gathered by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office prior to the request for authorization to make use of the powers set forth in this sub-section. In the authorization, the specific measures must be specified in detail as must the time during which they will be exercised and the people whom those measures could affect.

The exercise of the powers granted in paragraph one shall be subject to the requirements and formalities stipulated in articles 205; 207; 208; 209, paragraphs one, two and three, remission of information to the national prosecutor not being applicable for the purposes foreseen in this last paragraph; 210; 212 to 214, 216 through 225, except for paragraph three of Article 222, of the Criminal Procedure Code. Without prejudice to the above, the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office shall not intercept communications between the individual being investigated and those people who, due to their status, profession or legal function, such as the lawyer, doctor or confessor, have the duty to keep the secret which has been entrusted to them.

For the purposes of this law, the terms “prosecutor” or “Public Prosecutor’s Office”

referred to in the Criminal Procedure Code provisions, shall be understood as referring to the “National Economic Prosecutor”. References made to “judge” or

“supervisory judge” shall be understood as referring to the “Magistrate of the Court of Appeals” indicated in paragraph one of this subsection; references made to “oral trial” shall be understood as the “procedure”, and those made to “charged or accused person” shall be understood as referring to the “affected party”.

In the event that the Office of the Prosecutor does not comply with any of the requirements or formalities indicated in paragraph four, the affected parties may file a complaint with the Magistrate of the Court of Appeals referred to in paragraph one, who shall immediately deliver a verdict in a single hearing and summoning the parties for that purpose.

The evidence obtained as a result of the actions established in paragraph one, may not be used as proof in the procedure before the Tribunal in the

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event that the performance or exercise of such actions were carried out in cases not stipulated by law, or when the requisites foreseen for the exercise of such actions were not complied with, and would have been so declared, in the manner indicated in the preceding paragraph, by the Magistrate of the Court of Appeals referred to therein.

Background information that is obtained by exercising the faculties contained in this subsection may not be used by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office in any other investigation, unless there is a new court authorization.

ñ) To sign extrajudicial agreements with economic agents involved in his investigations, in order to protect free competition in the markets.

The Tribunal shall review the agreement in a single hearing summoning the parties for that purpose, within five working days after receiving the information. During this proceeding, the Tribunal may hear pleadings by the parties. The Tribunal shall approve or reject the agreement within fifteen working days, counted from the date of the hearing. Once rendered, these resolutions shall be binding on the parties that appeared for the agreement, and only an objection before the same Tribunal may be brought against them, and

o) Any others provided by law;

Article 39 bis.- Whoever has been involved in the conduct described in subsection a) of Article 3 may be granted a reduction or exemption of the fine when he/she provides information to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office that leads to proving the existence of such conduct and identifying those responsible for it.

In order to qualify for these benefits, applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. Provide precise, veracious and verifiable information that represents an effective contribution that amounts to sufficient grounds to file an action before the Tribunal;

2. Abstain from disclosing the fact of the application for these benefits until the Office of the Prosecutor has either filed an action or ordered the closing of the case related to the application.

3. Terminate his/her participation in the conduct immediately after submitting his application.

In order to benefit from a fine exemption, in addition to meeting the requirements indicated in the previous paragraph, the applicant shall be the first, among the group of those responsible for the imputed conduct, to provide information to the Office of the Prosecutor.

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In order to benefit from a fine reduction, in addition to fulfilling the requirements indicated in paragraph two, the applicant shall provide additional evidence to that submitted by the first person that supplied information to the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office. In any case, the reduction of the fine requested by the Prosecutor in his submission of charges shall not be greater than 50% of the highest fine requested for the other perpetrators of the conduct who cannot avail themselves of the benefits of this article.

In his submission of charges, the Prosecutor shall individualize each perpetrator of the conduct that fulfilled the requirements for benefiting from the fine reduction or exemption. If the Tribunal determines the existence of the conduct, it may not impose a fine to a person that has been identified as beneficiary of an exemption, nor impose a fine greater than that requested by the Prosecutor to a person identified as beneficiary of a fine reduction, unless it is demonstrated during the process that said beneficiary was the organizer of the illegal conduct coercing on others to participate in it.

Whoever alleges the existence of the conduct described in subsection a) of Article 3 on the basis of false or fraudulent information, knowingly doing so with the purpose of damaging other economic agents, availing himself of the benefits of this article, shall be penalized in accordance with Article 210 of the Criminal Code.

Article 40.- When he deems it necessary, the National Economic Prosecutor may, himself or by designating a representative, represent the Office of the Prosecutor in any process and, likewise intervene in any instance, proceeding or act before the courts of justice or administrative or municipal authorities.

The documents submitted and presentations made by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office before the Competition Tribunal and the courts of justice, shall be exempt from the taxes stipulated by law, and the attorneys who represent it may appear personally in the Superior Courts.

Article 41.- The Office of the Prosecutor shall receive and investigate, as applicable, accusations brought by private individuals with regard to acts that could imply a violation of the provisions of this law, without prejudice to sending those that, due to their nature, must be reviewed by other entities, to the relevant authorities. In order to determine if the accusations should be investigated or dismissed, the Office of the Prosecutor may, within the period of

60 days after having received the accusation, request information from private individuals, as well as summon to testify any person who could have knowledge of the denounced fact. The providing of information and the declaration mentioned above shall always be voluntary, and the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office may not exercise the power established in the first paragraph of Article 42 if no formal investigation has been initiated.

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Article 42.- People who obstruct investigations opened by the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office in the scope of its functions may be arrested for up to 15 days.

The arrest warrant shall be issued by the competent criminal court judge, upon request by the National Economic Prosecutor, prior authorization by the Competition Tribunal.

Officers of the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office and other people that provide services thereto shall be obligated to keep confidential all information, data and background information that they may become aware of in the execution of their duties, and especially that which is obtained by virtue of the faculties indicated in subsections a), g), h), and n) of Article 39, and in Article

41. The above notwithstanding, said information may be used in the fulfilment of functions of the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office and when filing actions before the Competition Tribunal or the courts of justice.

Violation to this prohibition shall be punished by the sanctions indicated in articles 246, 247 and 247bis of the Criminal Code, and with disciplinary sanctions that may be applied administratively for that same offence. In addition, the civil servants and State accountability provisions contemplated in law N° 19,880, in the decree with force of law N° 29 of 2005 of the Ministry of Finance shall be applicable, which sets forth the consolidated, coordinated and systematized text of law N° 18,834 on Administrative bylaws, and in law N°

18,575 on General Conditions of State Administration.

Article 43.- Advisors or consultants who provide fee-based services to the National

Dans le document HANDBOOK ON COMPETITION LEGISLATION (Page 150-157)