Musat & Asociatii is reporting that the Bucharest Court of Appeal (CAB) has granted Musat client Sig Sauer's motion to annul the fine of over RON 7 million which had been levied by Romania's Competition Council against the company.
Sig Sauer GmbH & Co KG, established in 1853, is a well-known weapon manufacturer, renowned especially for its revolvers, which are used by police and security forces in many states around the world.
In November 2013, the German company, along with three other companies, was sanctioned by Romania's Competition Council for an alleged violation of the country's Competition Law and of Article 101 of TFEU, involving an alleged concerted practice of participation in a system of fixed bids in public procedures organized from 2005-2007 by the Ministry of National Defense for the procurement of infantry weapons and optical equipment.
In response to Sig Sauer's motion, the Bucharest Court of Appeal ordered the annulment of the sanctioning decision of the Competition Council affecting the company.
The Musat & Asociatii team advising Sig Sauer was coordinated by Partner Anca Buta Musat, working together with Partner Paul Buta, Managing Associate Razvan Pele, and Associate Sandra Olanescu.
"The extremely various issues brought before the court, including procedural aspects, the interference of the EU Competition Law with the Romanian Law, extremely new aspects in the Competition Law such as 'hub-and-spoke' understandings and the evidentiary standard associated with these type of deeds, but also the revisiting of 'classic' institutions of Competition Law, such as the distinction between restrictions by object and restrictions by effect and the individualization of sanctions, made this litigation a very significant one, but also challenging, especially for the court of law, [which had] to evaluate the entire range of issues, applied to an eminently technical field, at the same time with judging many more files," stated Paul Buta in a formal statement released by the firm. "We therefore appreciate especially the openness of the court to completely and exhaustively evaluate all the sides of this interesting file and we hope that the decision in this case becomes one that shall significantly contribute to the clarification of many questions regarding the interpretation and enforcement of Competition Law."
