Legalize / United Kingdom / Statutory-Instrument

The Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2015

Type Statutory-Instrument

Publication 2015-09-07

State In force

Department King's Printer of Acts of Parliament

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API PDF

Made: 7th September 2015

Laid before Parliament: 8th September 2015

Coming into force: 1st October 2015

Having consulted in accordance with section 15(1) of the Enterprise Act 2002 , the Secretary of State makes the following Rules in exercise of the powers conferred by section 15(1) to (3) of, and Part 2 of Schedule 4 to, that Act and sections 192(3) and (4) and 193(1), (2)(b) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003 .

PART 1 — INTRODUCTION

Citation and commencement

1

These Rules may be cited as the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2015 and come into force on 1st October 2015.

Interpretation

2

(1) In these Rules—

“the 1998 Act” means the Competition Act 1998[^f00003];

“the 2002 Act” means the Enterprise Act 2002;

“the 2003 Act” means the Communications Act 2003;

“additional claim” has the meaning given in rule 39(1);

“a chairman” means a person who falls within one of the categories of persons specified in section 12(2)(aa) to (ac) or (b) of the 2002 Act (constitution of the Competition Appeal Tribunal)[^f00004];

“the chairman” means the chairman of the Tribunal as constituted for particular proceedings;

“class representative” has the meaning given for representative in section 59(1) of the 1998 Act (interpretation)[^f00005] or means a representative of a sub-class who is specified in a collective proceedings order;

“CMA” means the Competition and Markets Authority;

“collective proceedings” means proceedings under section 47B(1) of the 1998 Act (collective proceedings before the Tribunal)[^f00006];

“collective settlement” means settlement under section 49A (collective settlements: where a collective proceedings order has been made) or 49B (collective settlements: where a collective proceedings order has not been made) of the 1998 Act[^f00007];

“collective settlement order” means an order authorising the settlement representative to act in relation to the collective settlement;

“confidentiality ring” means an arrangement set up in accordance with a direction by the Tribunal under which documents are treated as confidential and disclosed only on such terms as the Tribunal thinks fit;

“costs” has the meaning given by rule 104;

“CPR” means the Civil Procedure Rules 1998[^f00008];

“damages” means any sum of money (other than costs or expenses) which may be awarded in respect of a claim under section 47A (claims for damages etc.) or 47B (collective proceedings) of the 1998 Act[^f00009];

“disclose”, in rules 60 to 65, has the meaning given in rule 60;

“document” means anything in which information of any description is recorded, in whatever form; and “copy”, in relation to a document, means anything onto which information recorded in the document has been copied, by whatever means and whether directly or indirectly;

“filing”, in relation to a document, means sending it to the Registrar in accordance with rule 111(1);

“foreign defendant” means a defendant domiciled outside the United Kingdom;

“infringement decision” has the meaning given by section 47A(6) of the 1998 Act;

“President” means the person appointed to be President of the Tribunal;

“Registrar” means the person appointed to be Registrar of the Tribunal;

“relevant period”, in rules 47 to 49, has the meaning given in rule 45(1);

“Rule 45 Offer” in rules 45 to 49, has the meaning given in rule 45(1);

“settlement representative” means a person who is authorised by a collective settlement order to act in relation to a collective settlement;

“specified price control matter” means a price control matter[^f00010] specified in rule 116(1);

“statement of truth” means a statement that the party putting forward a document, or in the case of a witness statement, the maker of the witness statement, believes the facts stated in the document or witness statement are true;

“sub-class” means a member of a distinct class of class members, described in the collective proceedings order or a collective settlement order, as the case may be;

“TFEU” means the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[^f00011];

“Tribunal” means (a) the Competition Appeal Tribunal or (b) in relation to any proceedings, the tribunal as constituted for the purposes of those proceedings, as the context requires; and

“undertaking as to damages” means an undertaking to pay damages which a person sustains as a result of an interim injunction or other interim order and which the Tribunal considers the person in whose favour the injunction or other order is granted should pay.

(2) These Rules are to be applied by the Tribunal and interpreted in accordance with the governing principles set out in rule 4.

Application of Rules

3

These Rules apply as follows—

(a) Parts 1 and 6 apply to all proceedings before the Tribunal;

(b) Part 2 applies to all proceedings before the Tribunal save as otherwise provided in Parts 3, 4, 5 and 7;

(d) Part 4 applies to claims under section 47A of the 1998 Act and, subject to rule 74, to collective proceedings;

(e) Part 5 applies to collective proceedings and collective settlements;

(f) Part 7 applies to appeals under section 192(2) of the 2003 Act[^f00012] relating to price control.

Governing principles

4

(1) The Tribunal shall seek to ensure that each case is dealt with justly and at proportionate cost.

(2) Dealing with a case justly and at proportionate cost includes, so far as is practicable—

(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing;

(b) saving expense;

(i) to the amount of money involved;

(ii) to the importance of the case;

(iii) to the complexity of the issues; and

(iv) to the financial position of each party;

(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly;

(e) allotting to it an appropriate share of the Tribunal’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases; and

(f) enforcing compliance with these Rules, any practice direction issued under rule 115, and any order or direction of the Tribunal.

(3) Each party’s case shall be fully set out in writing as early as possible.

(4) The Tribunal shall actively manage cases.

(5) Active case management includes—

(a) encouraging the parties to co-operate with each other in the conduct of the proceedings;

(b) identification of and concentration on the main issues as early as possible;

(c) fixing a target date for the main hearing as early as possible together with a timetable for the proceedings up to the main hearing, taking into account the nature of the case;

(d) adopting fact-finding procedures that are most effective and appropriate for the case;

(e) planning the structure of the main hearing in advance with a view to avoiding unnecessary oral evidence and argument; and

(f) ensuring that the main hearing is conducted within defined time-limits.

(6) The Tribunal may—

(a) encourage and facilitate the use of an alternative dispute resolution procedure if the Tribunal considers that appropriate;

(b) dispense with the need for the parties to attend any hearing; and

(7) The parties (together with their representatives and any experts) are required to co-operate with the Tribunal to give effect to the principles in this rule.

The Registrar

5

(1) Any person appointed to be the Registrar under section 12(3) of the 2002 Act (constitution of the Competition Appeal Tribunal) shall—

(a) have a seven year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (qualification for judicial and certain other appointments)[^f00013], or

(b) be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least seven years’ standing, or

(i) a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland of at least seven years’ standing, or

(ii) a solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland of at least seven years’ standing.

(2) The Registrar shall act in accordance with the instructions of the President and is, in particular, to be responsible for—

(a) the establishment and maintenance of a register in which all pleadings and supporting documents and all orders and decisions of the Tribunal are to be registered;

(b) the acceptance, transmission, service and custody of documents in accordance with these Rules;

(c) the enforcement of decisions of the Tribunal under paragraphs 4 and 5 of Schedule 4 to the 2002 Act (procedure of the Tribunal)[^f00014] and certification for the purposes of paragraph 1A of that Schedule[^f00015];

(d) certifying that any order, direction or decision is an order, direction or decision of the Tribunal, the President or a chairman, as the case may be.

(3) Any function of the Registrar may be performed by any member of staff of the Competition Service[^f00016] whom the President or Registrar may authorise for the purpose.

Tribunal address for service

6

The address for the filing or service of documents at or on the Tribunal (referred to in these Rules as “the Tribunal address for service”) is: The Registrar of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, London WC1A 2EB or such other address as may be notified on the Tribunal website from time to time.

Tribunal website

7

The location of the Tribunal website is: www.catribunal.org.uk or such other location as may be notified from time to time in such manner as the President may direct.

Representation

8

(1) In proceedings before the Tribunal, a party may be represented by—

(a) a qualified lawyer having a right of audience before a court in the United Kingdom; or

(b) any other person allowed by the Tribunal to appear on behalf of the party.

(2) A party shall notify the Tribunal where—

(a) the party changes its legal representative;

(b) the party, having conducted the proceedings in person, appoints a legal representative to act on its behalf; or

(3) The notice referred to in paragraph (2) shall state the party’s new address for service and be served on—

(a) every other party to the proceedings; and

(b) where paragraph (2)(a) or (c) applies, the former legal representative.

(4) Until service of the notice referred to in paragraph (2), service of any document at the existing address for service is valid.

PART 2 — APPEALS

COMMENCING APPEAL PROCEEDINGS

Time and manner of commencing appeals

9

(1) An appeal to the Tribunal shall be made by filing a notice of appeal within two months of the date upon which the appellant was notified of the disputed decision or the date of publication of the decision, whichever is the earlier.

(2) The Tribunal may not extend the time limit provided under paragraph (1) unless it is satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional.

(3) The notice of appeal shall state—

(a) the name and address of the appellant;

(b) the name and address of the appellant’s legal representative, if any;

(d) the name and address of the respondent to the proceedings,

and shall be signed and dated by the appellant, or on its behalf by its duly authorised officer or legal representative.

(4) The notice of appeal shall contain—

(a) a concise statement of the facts;

(b) details of the decision to which the proceedings relate;

(c) observations on the question in which part of the United Kingdom the proceedings of the Tribunal are to be treated as taking place under rule 18;

(d) a summary of the grounds for contesting the decision, identifying in particular—

(i) under which statutory provision the appeal is brought;

(ii) to what extent (if any) the appellant contends that the disputed decision was based on an error of fact or was wrong in law;

(iii) to what extent (if any) the appellant is appealing against the respondent’s exercise of its discretion in making the disputed decision;

(e) a succinct presentation of the arguments supporting each of the grounds of appeal;

(f) the relief sought by the appellant, and any directions sought in accordance with rule 19;

(g) a schedule listing all the documents annexed to the notice of appeal; and

(h) a statement identifying the evidence (whether witness statements or other documents annexed to the notice of appeal) the substance of which, so far as the appellant is aware, was not before the maker of the disputed decision.

(5) In proceedings under the 2003 Act, the notice of appeal shall include a statement indicating the extent to which the appeal relates to price control or a specified price control matter arises in the appeal.

(6) There shall be annexed to the notice of appeal—

(a) a copy of the disputed decision; and

(b) as far as practicable, a copy of every document (or part of a document) on which the appellant relies, including the written statements of all witnesses of fact and expert witnesses, if any.

(7) Unless the Tribunal otherwise directs, the signed original of the notice of appeal shall be accompanied by ten copies of the notice of appeal and its annexes certified by the appellant or its legal representative as conforming to the original.

Defective notices of appeal

10

(1) If the Tribunal considers that a notice of appeal does not comply with rule 9, or is materially incomplete, or is unduly prolix or lacking in clarity, the Tribunal may give such directions as may be necessary to ensure that those defects are remedied.

(2) The Tribunal may, if satisfied that the efficient conduct of the proceedings so requires, instruct the Registrar to defer service of the notice of appeal on the respondent until after the directions referred to in paragraph (1) have been complied with.

Power to strike out

11

(1) The Tribunal may, after giving the parties an opportunity to be heard, strike out an appeal in whole or in part at any stage in the proceedings if—

(a) it considers that the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear or determine the appeal;

(b) it considers that the notice of appeal, or part of it, discloses no valid ground of appeal;

(c) it considers that the appellant does not have (or represent those who have) a sufficient interest in the decision in respect of which the appeal is made;

(d) it is satisfied that the appellant has habitually and persistently and without any reasonable ground—

(i) instituted vexatious proceedings, whether against the same person or different persons; or

(ii) made vexatious applications in any proceedings; or

(e) the appellant fails to comply with any rule, practice direction issued under rule 115, or order or direction of the Tribunal.

(2) When the Tribunal strikes out an appeal it may make any consequential order it considers appropriate.

Amendments to notice of appeal

12

(1) The appellant may amend the notice of appeal only with the permission of the Tribunal.

(2) Where the Tribunal grants permission under paragraph (1) it may do so on such terms as it thinks fit, and may give any further or consequential directions it considers necessary.

(3) In deciding whether to grant permission under paragraph (1), the Tribunal shall take into account all the circumstances including whether the proposed amendment—

(a) involves a substantial change or addition to the appellant’s case;

(b) is based on matters of law or fact which have come to light since the appeal was made; or

Withdrawal of the appeal

13

(1) The appellant may withdraw its appeal only with the permission of the Tribunal, or if no Tribunal has been constituted, the President.

(2) Where permission is granted under paragraph (1), the Tribunal or the President, as the case may be, (“the grantor”) may—

(a) do so on such terms as the grantor thinks fit;

(b) instruct the Registrar to publish notice of the withdrawal on the Tribunal website or in such other manner as the grantor may direct; and

(3) Where an appeal is withdrawn—

(a) any interim order of the Tribunal, other than an order made in respect of costs, immediately ceases to have effect; and

(b) no fresh appeal may be brought by the appellant in relation to the decision which was the subject of the appeal without the permission of the Tribunal.

RESPONSE TO APPEAL PROCEEDINGS

Acknowledgment and notification

14

(1) On receiving a notice of appeal the Registrar shall—

(a) send an acknowledgement of its receipt to the appellant; and

(b) subject to rules 10(2) and 11, send a copy of the notice of appeal to the respondent who made the disputed decision.

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