Law 281/2022 - Competition Law.

Comprising 66 articles across four chapters, this Law is designed to promote and regulate free competition while prohibiting trusts, monopolies, and cartels. Its objectives extend to protecting consumer rights, achieving economic efficiency, fostering production, innovation, technical development, and maintaining high product quality. The impetus for developing Competition Law stems from recognizing the crucial interrelation between competition policy and economic policies, particularly in trade and their connections to international trade liberalization and development. As a pivotal defense mechanism, the law shields developing countries from potential adverse impacts resulting from the globalized commercial behavior of multinational companies. Given Lebanon's market challenges, including a small economic size and the prevalence of privileges and monopolies, the need for laws to organize and restructure becomes imperative. This legal framework aims to create an environment fostering fair competition, ensuring the protection of investors and small to medium enterprises from dominance. The Competition Law is deemed essential for stimulating investment, promoting innovation, and contributing to the national economy. It is also envisioned as a tool to address collusion and inappropriate practices in public procurement, aligning with proposed economic and legal reforms by the government. Ultimately, the law seeks to establish a comprehensive system that regulates competition, prohibits anti-competitive behaviors, and exercises control over economic concentration operations to ensure market balance and cultivate freedom of competition.
The Law is applicable to various activities (i) those involving production, distribution, and services within Lebanese territory, encompassing legal entities of public law and activities conducted under public service concession contracts; (ii) activities in production, distribution, and services conducted outside Lebanon, with consideration given to treaties between Lebanon and the relevant countries; (iii) activities related to the misuse of intellectual property rights, trademarks, patents, and publication rights, specifically if they lead to anti-competitive effects. Key provisions of the Law include (i) the elimination of exclusive dealerships and exclusive commercial representation; (ii) the establishment of the National Competition Commission (art.24), an independent legal entity under the Ministry of Economy and Trade, tasked with overseeing market functionality, promoting free competition, and regulating restrictive business practices. The Commission holds exclusive authority to decide on competition matters; (iii) the restriction and regulation of anti-competitive practices, such as abuse of dominant position and economic concentration; (iv) the prohibition of agreements, decisions, and practices that are anti-competitive. The Law does not apply to activities commenced before its entry into force, and fines may not be imposed by the Commission in such cases unless the practices persist beyond the law's effective date. All individuals must regularize their situations in accordance with the Law's provisions within one year from its entry into force.