An educational programme for judges and lawyers on the European Law on competition, currently taking place in Nicosia, has provided a forum for an exchange of views and a briefing by legal experts on the subject matter.
The programme is organised by the Law Commissioner’s Office, in collaboration with the Faculty of Law of the West England University and the Department of European Studies of Palermo University.
George Arestis, member of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, has told delegates that Cypriots should understand that since Cyprus’ accession to the EU, they live in a new economic and legal environment.
Speaking to CNA, on the sidelines of the programme, Arestis said that legislation on competition aims at protecting citizens from the imposition of prices, quality and practices big companies apply.
He also noted that the national Courts and the national commissions for the protection of competition have a crucial role to play on the implementation of competition rules.
Asked if it is possible for free competition to apply in a small country like Cyprus, Arestis noted that mergers between local companies and Greek companies, for example, can take place and this, he explained, is a matter for the competent commissions to deal with.
“Cyprus’ small size is irrelevant, since we are not talking about the market of each country, but about a common market that comprises all the national markets of the EU member states”, he added.
Arestis, the main speaker at the training programme, said the courts of law have a role to play in monitoring or assisting in some way the competition agencies on a community or nationa level in their investigations into violation of competition rules.
Fifty eight jurists participate in the programme. Among them, three are judges of the Supreme Court of Cyprus, fourteen are judges of District Courts. In addition thirteen officers of the Cyprus Commission for the protection of competition, five from the Law Office of the Republic of Cyprus and ten judges from Romania and FYROM are attending.
Cyprus Law Commissioner Leda Koursoumpa, addressing the opening of the programme, said that the implementation of the competition regulation on a national level falls firstly under the jurisdiction of the Commission for the Protection of the Competition and the Courts, especially the Supreme Court.
Speaking to CNA, Koursoumpa noted that the legislation on competition is the cornerstone of the EU internal market, adding that it is very important for those who apply the legislation on a national level to be well informed. She also said that it is also very important for Cyprus that the European Commission accepted the programme to include lawyers as well.
The Attorney General Petros Clerides said that the legislation and the competition policy is fundamental to the EU, adding that since the establishment of the European Economic Community the law on competition is one of the fundamental cornerstones for the proper functioning of the internal market.
