UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Alex Stratakis and Marc Freedman, Van Bael & Bellis
waiver before exchanging information relevant to the transaction with other competition authori - ties in relevant jurisdictions. 8. Appeals and Judicial Review 8.1 Access to Appeal and Judicial Review A CMA merger decision (such as a decision to clear, refer or prohibit a transaction) can be reviewed on application to the UK Competi - tion Appeal Tribunal (CAT) under Section 120 of the EA. Decisions imposing fines can also be appealed before the CAT. An appeal to the CAT can only be made on grounds of judicial review. Therefore, the CAT’s review will be limited to examining the lawfulness of the decision and not the merits of the case. The CAT may decide to either dismiss the appli - cation or quash the decision and refer the matter back to the CMA, in which case the CMA will be under a direction to reconsider and issue a new decision. 8.2 Typical Timeline for Appeals An application to the CAT must be made within four weeks of the date of the CMA’s decision. The CAT’s Guide to Proceedings states that it will typically consider applications for review of merger decisions with a certain level of urgency. However, the CAT is not subject to a fixed statu - tory timetable within which to deliver its judg - ment. In practice, the main hearing will generally take place within three months. A judgment of the CAT may be appealed on a point of law to the Court of Appeal of Eng - land and Wales within 14 days and with leave
to appeal from either the CAT or the Court of Appeal. 8.3 Ability of Third Parties to Appeal Clearance Decisions Clearance decisions can be challenged by third parties who are aggrieved by the relevant deci - sion of the CMA. Aggrieved third parties will typically be market competitors, but may extend to customers and interest groups.
9. Foreign Direct Investment/ Subsidies Review
9.1 Legislation and Filing Requirements The NSI Act created a separate investment screening regime in the UK, which captures for - eign direct investment (FDI) in certain sectors with potential national security implications (see 1.2 Legislation Relating to Particular Sectors and 4.6 Non-Competition Issues ). While certain specified sectors are subject to mandatory noti - fication, transactions outside of those sectors may be voluntarily notified or called in for review if they pose a national security risk. Mandatory Notification The mandatory regime of the NSI Act applies to 17 sensitive sectors of the economy, such as arti - ficial intelligence, data infrastructure, defence, energy, military and dual-use, and suppliers to emergency services and transport (the full list is accessible in the UK government’s guidance on how the rules apply to acquisitions).
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