The new Competition Law entered into force on July 1 1996. Since then, the practices of undertakings having a dominant position have been ruled abusive by the Competition Commission in three cases, the decision on the latest of which has been published recently. The test applied by the Competition Commission is twofold. Acts of undertakings dominating the market will be regarded as unlawful if they adversely impact on competitors or trading partners and to the extent that the harm to competitors or trading partners is not justified by legitimate and compelling business reasons.

Manuel Bianchi
Lenz & Staehelin
Geneva