Fuel Sector – Violation of Competition Law

A recent decision of the Office for Competition found there to be a violation of the competition law rules in a vertical agreement, which took effect when a fuel station, having reduced its price for diesel from a particular supplier, later raised its price again, having succumbed to pressure from that supplier in order to do so. The Office found there to be a violation of competition law in terms of there being an agreement to maintain high prices for … Continued

Google – EU competition law breach accusations

The European Commission sent a statement of objections to the tech firm, alleging that it has breached EU competition law. Google is accused of placing onerous requirements on firms using Android and stifling competition. Google has 12 weeks within which to reply and, if found to be abusing its dominant position, could face large fines and have to change its practices with respect to companies opting to obtain a licence to use its apps on their products (smartphones). Read the … Continued

Meet Geraldine Spiteri !

I was admitted to practice law in 2002 and is a member of the Chamber of Advocates. I subsequently qualified in the specialised areas of EU and Comparative Law (Magister Juris at University of Malta) and International Maritime Law (LL.M. at the IMO International Maritime Law Institute).I lecture at the MCAST Maritime Institute and MCAST Institute of Agribusiness, as well as the European Institute of Education in matters relating to maritime law. I have served as a judicial assistant at … Continued

The Malta Bargains Decision – Clarifying the Position of Authorities

In a recent judgement of the Competition and Consumer Tribunal, the Office for Competition obtained confirmation that a public authority, in its dealings with market players, does not qualify as an ‘undertaking’ in terms of the Competition Act, unless it is actually performing a commercial function in the market. The case concerned a subsidy granted by the Malta Tourism Authority to tourism operators: the claimant alleged that the authority discriminated against it in the grant of said subsidy when compared … Continued