NEW ZEALAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Ellie Harrison and Jasper Fawcett, Wynn Williams Lawyers
• the appeal involves a matter of general commercial significance. In very limited circumstances, the Supreme Court may hear an appeal directly from the High Court.
Perhaps of more significance is the potential for anti - trust class actions, and in particular follow-on actions, to take hold in New Zealand if the government imple - ments the class action and litigation funding reforms recommended by the New Zealand Law Commis - sion. Such action may be more likely in the misuse of market space than the cartel space, depending on the New Zealand Commerce Commission’s activity in this area following the reforms to the Commerce Act 1986. Reform of the class actions regime will take some time, however, and it seems unlikely there will be a significant increase in activity in this area in the short-to-medium term. Irrespective of action in the private antitrust litigation space, it can be safely assumed that the Commerce Commission will continue to actively enforce breach - es of the Commerce Act in New Zealand, including a specific focus on abuses of market power, bid-rig - ging cartel conduct, and non-compete agreements. Enforcement of anti-competitive mergers and acqui - sitions and cartels will also remain enduring priorities for the Commerce Commission, particularly following the criminalisation of cartel conduct in New Zealand in 2021 and the filing of the first criminal cartel pro - ceedings by the Commerce Commission in late 2023.
13. Looking Forward 13.1 Legislative Trends and Other Developments
While there have been numerous private cases includ - ing Commerce Act claims as additional causes of action, private antitrust litigation has not featured significantly in New Zealand to date. It is possible, however, that the changes to New Zealand’s misuse of market power provision may encourage more pri - vate antitrust litigation. The authors are aware of at least one private antitrust case currently before the High Court that includes allegations of abuse of mar - ket power.
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