PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Armando Martins Ferreira, Inês Sequeira Mendes and Margarida Calixto Kolmer, Abreu Advogados
the evidence that they deem necessary, such as foreign decisions or evidence from other jurisdic - tions. However, the national judge will not be bound by such decisions or evidence and is always allowed to weigh up the evidence presented by the parties as it deems fit. The PCA may ask another national competition authority to request an undertaking, on its behalf, for all information necessary for the purposes of determining whether an infringement of Article 101 or 102 of the TFEU has occurred. It may also ask another national competition authority to effect inspections, inquiries, searches and sei - zures on its behalf. 4.4 Domestic Inter-Agency Co-Operation The PCA has to co-operate with other public/ regulatory agencies, including in sector-specific regulated markets, and may, whenever neces - sary, request legal opinions or studies regarding the respective sector. Whenever a sectoral regulatory entity, within the scope of its responsibilities, is faced with a conduct that might constitute a competition law infringement, it shall inform the PCA of these facts and before issuing its final decision, it should notify the PCA of the draft decision in order for it to issue an opinion within the time limit defined by the regulatory entity. Similarly, the sovereign bodies and their holders, in the performance of their missions and func - tions of defence of the constitutional and legal order, have the duty to communicate to the PCA the violations of competition rules. If the PCA becomes aware of facts occurring within the scope of sectoral regulation and likely
to be classified as prohibited practices, it shall inform the sectoral regulatory agency for the lat - ter to issue an opinion before reaching a deci - sion. 4.5 International Inter-Agency Co- Operation As Portugal is an EU member state, the PCA co-operates with other EU national competition authorities in the framework of the European Competition Network (ECN). With the transposition of the ECN+ Directive, the Competition Act now allows the PCA to request other national competition authorities to pro - ceed with inspections, searches, inquiries and requests for information, on its behalf, in order to determine the existence of an infringement to Article 101 or 102 of the TFEU. Likewise, other national competition authorities may ask the PCA to proceed with inspections, searches, inquiries and requests for information, on their behalf, in order to determine the exist - ence of an infringement of Article 101 or 102 of the TFEU. Additionally, the PCA may, at the request of other national competition authorities, notify the recip - ient of the SO, or an equivalent, of procedural acts that must be notified or of other documents, namely, pertaining to the execution of decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments. Furthermore, under certain conditions, the PCA can promote the execution of decisions impos - ing fines or periodic penalty payments at the request of other national competition authorities. 4.6 Issuing Criminal Indictments Sanctions for cartel infringements are based on administrative offences. There are no criminal proceedings in this respect.
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