Syp_Intersection_between

VOL. 2011, 4(5) Intersection between the activities of two regulators – shall prior actions taken by the National Telecoms Regulator exclude the ability to intervene by the Competition Authority? Case comments to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 17... More

VOL. 2011, 4(5) Intersection between the activities of two regulators – shall prior actions taken by the National Telecoms Regulator exclude the ability to intervene by the Competition Authority? Case comments to the judgment of the Supreme Court of 17 March 2010 – Telekomunikacja Polska S. A. (Ref. No. III SK 41/09) Background The commented judgment of the Polish Supreme Court concerns Telekomunikacja Polska S. A. (hereafter, TPSA)1 and the fines imposed upon the incumbent operator by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (in Polish: Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów; hereafter, UOKiK) for the abuse of its dominant position. TPSA is a Polish telecoms provider formally established in 1991. It is a public company – its shares are traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange with the controlling stake owned by France Télécom2. TPSA is often the subject of competition law decisions issued not only by the UOKiK President but also by the European Commission Less