UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Saleh, Asad Ahmad, Khaled Abuorabi and Habiba Wahdan, GLA & Company
8. Appeals and Judicial Review 8.1 Access to Appeal and Judicial Review Any concerned party can request the Minister review a competition decision adopted by them - selves within 14 days of the date the applicant became aware of the decision. The request should be in writing and explain the grounds the request is being made on and attach all of the necessary supporting documents. The Competition Committee will, in return, review the request and submit its recommenda - tions to the Minister within ten days of the date on which the application was referred. The Minister should adopt a final decision within 30 days of the request being filed. If a decision is not adopted within this timeframe, the request will be considered to be rejected. Decisions issued by the Minister can be appealed before the competent court within 60 days of the concerned parties being notified of the Minister’s decision. However, the Minister may enter into a settle - ment with “undertakings” considered to have breached the Competition Law, except for breaches of unauthorised disclosure of the con - fidential information protected under the Com - petition Law. Settlement with breaching “undertakings” is subject to the following. • “Undertakings” pay a fine amounting to no less than two times the minimum stated in the Competition Law. • The settlement is entered into before a crimi - nal case is filed.
7.2 Contacting Third Parties The Competition Department may contact third parties in any way it considers appropriate. This can include by phone calls, emails, written let - ters (which can be sent by mail or electronically) or by interviewing the third parties (interviews are most likely to take place at the offices of the Competition Department). The Competition Department may also request third parties submit their comments in this regard within 15 days of the Competition Department’s request (the so-called market test) if they may be affected by the transaction being cleared. 7.3 Confidentiality The Competition Law requires the Ministry’s employees to take steps to keep sensitive infor - mation (which could cause serious damage if disclosed) confidential. In this regard, the Min - istry’s employees are not permitted to disclose any information reviewed as part of the notifica - tion application unless the disclosure is to the concerned parties or at the request of the rel - evant authorities. Violating the confidentiality duties could, under the Competition Law, lead to a fine of between AED50,000 and AED200,000 being imposed. Confidential documents submitted as part of the notification application should be labelled as “confidential” and non-confidential summaries of the confidential information should be pro - vided. 7.4 Co-Operation With Other Jurisdictions There is no obligation for, or prohibition of, the Ministry to co-operate with other regulators in other jurisdictions.
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