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Competition

Interim Measures in Antitrust Investigations

 

Interim measures are protective and corrective tools that may be adopted while investigating possible antitrust infringements. Despite having been in the toolbox of many competition authorities for decades, the debate concerning the effectiveness and efficiency of antitrust enforcement in fast-moving markets turned the spotlight on interim measures and it triggered reform proposals in several jurisdictions.

In June 2022, the OECD held a roundtable that explored several aspects related to the application of interim measures, including:

  • What are the key principles, legal standards and main policy considerations that should be observed when imposing interim measures?
  • What kind of cases are best suited for interim measures? Are interim measures more appropriate for well-established or novel theories of harm? In which markets can interim measures be most effective?
  • What is the interplay between interim measures and other enforcement tools such as commitments and remedies as well as ex ante regulation?
  • Do interim measures raise due process issues? What are the key safeguards in place to ensure the rights of defence?

The discussion showed that:

  • a balanced use of interim measures can prevent irreparable harm during investigations, and 
  • there is an increasing focus on interim measures in fast-changing markets across several countries.

The topic was again explored in February during the 2023 OECD Competition Open Day, an event open to the public. Watch the session on replay.

All related documentation are available on this page. 

See the full list of best practice roundtables on competition.

2023 OECD COMPETITION OPEN DAY

On 23 February 2023, Interim Measures in Antitrust Investigations was again addressed at the fifth edition of the OECD Competition Open Day in Paris at an event open to all. 

Watch the session on replay. 

VIDEO: Effective antitrust investigation explained in 8 minutes

JUNE 2022 SESSION INFORMATION

Invited speakers

Juliette Caminade Bio  
Vice-President, Analysis Group

Ian Forrester, QC Bio  
Former Judge, General Court of the European Union

Lars Kjolbye Bio 
Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP

Marcela Mattiuzzo Bio  
Partner, VMCA

Rod Sims Bio 
Former Chairman, ACCC

Documents

interim-measures-in-antitrust-investigations cover

O‌ECD Background note | Version française

Note by Juliette Caminade

Detailed Summary of the discussion  EN | FR

Executive Summary with key findings  EN | FR

Contributions from delegations

Argentina

Belgium

BIAC

Brazil

Colombia

Costa Rica

Croatia

EU

France (EN|FR)

Israel

Japan

Latvia

Peru

Portugal

Slovak Republic

South Africa

Sweden

Switzerland

United States

Ukraine

Summaries of contributions

Videos

Juliette Caminade on Interim Measures in Digital Markets

Marcela Mattiuzzo on Interim Measures in Antitrust Cases in Brazil

 

Related best practice roundtables and links

Abuse of dominance in digital markets (2020)

The role of competition policy in promoting economic recovery (2020)

Procedural Fairness: Competition Authorities, Courts and Recent Developments (2011)

Procedural Fairness: Transparency Issues in Civil and Administrative Enforcement Proceedings (2010) 

OECD best practice roundtables on competition

More OECD work on Competition

Presentations

Juliette Caminade

Marcella Mattiuzzo

OECD Secretariat

 

Related Documents