News & Publications - Legal Briefing

Trade Association Price Freeze Condemned by Irish Competition Court, July 2009 In an important victory for the Competition Authority, the Irish High Court has required two associations of vintners – representing upwards of 5,500 Irish publicans – to abandon a recommendation of a “one year price freeze” on drink prices in pubs. Couched as a pro-consumer response to worsening economic conditions when announced in late 2008, Irish publicans had rebuffed repeated Competition Authority demands to cease the price freeze arguing that it was “fundamentally different” to anticompetitive pricesetting and, at the same time, justifi ed due to diffi cult trading conditions for publicans. While the Court did not ultimately rule on those arguments, the Court did fi nd the associations in contempt of court for breach of previous court undertakings not to recommend prices.      Click here to download pdf        Relevant Partners Damian Collins Philip Andrews Rosaleen Byrne