SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Lim Chong Kin and Corinne Chew, Drew & Napier LLC
The Competition Act does not impose criminal liability in respect of competition law violations. 5.6 Relevance of Effective Compliance Programmes The Commission has stated in its Guidelines on the Appropriate Amount of Penalty in Compe - tition Cases that the financial penalty may be reduced where the Commission considers there are mitigating factors, including the existence of any compliance programme. In considering how much mitigating value is to be accorded to the existence of any compliance programme, the Commission will take into account whether: • there are appropriate compliance policies and procedures in place; • the programme has been actively imple - mented; • it has the support of, and is observed by, senior management; • there is active and ongoing training for employees at all levels who may be involved in activities touched by competition law; and • the programme is evaluated and reviewed at regular intervals. 5.7 Mandatory Consumer Redress There are no provisions requiring mandatory consumer redress for a breach of the Section 34 Prohibition in the Competition Act. As noted in 1.2 Regulatory/Enforcement Agencies and Penalties and 6.1 Private Rights of Action , individuals have private rights of action to seek redress in court from parties found by the Com - mission to have infringed the Section 34 Prohi - bition. 5.8 Judicial Review or Appeal As noted in 1.2 Regulatory/Enforcement Agen- cies and Penalties , appeals regarding the Com - mission’s decisions can be made to the Board,
which is an independent body established under Section 72 of the Competition Act. The Board’s powers and procedures are set out primarily in Section 73 of the Competition Act and the Com - petition (Appeals) Regulations. In general, parties to an agreement or persons whose conduct in respect of which the Commis - sion has made a decision finding an infringement of the Section 34 Prohibition may appeal against that decision, the imposition of or the amount of any financial penalty, or any directions issued. There is no right to appeal to the Board against the Commission’s refusal to accept any commit - ments offered, but appeals may be made against the Commission’s refusal to vary, substitute or Procedurally, appeals are made by lodging a notice of appeal, in accordance with the Compe - tition (Appeals) Regulations, within two months from the date of the Commission’s decision. Thereafter, the Commission has six weeks to file its defence. The Board may determine the procedure and timetable of the appeal, usually through holding a case management conference with the parties. The Board has broad powers to make such directions it thinks fit to secure the just, expeditious and economical conduct of the appeal proceedings. The outcome Regarding the outcome, the Board can confirm, impose, revoke or vary a direction, or make any other direction or decision, as long as it is a decision or direction that the Commission itself could have given. On the merits of the appeal, the Board will apply the civil standard of proof – namely, proof on the balance of probabilities – which the Board has previously applied in the Express Bus Operators case. release existing commitments. Procedure for Making an Appeal
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