Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore wins first-ever appeal to the High Court of Singapore

Compass Lexecon advised the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore ('CCS') in its first-ever appeal to the High Court of Singapore. The appeal concerned whether communications on pricing intentions between warehouse operators constituted a concerted practice that restricted competition by object under Singapore competition law.

Situation

The CCS issued an infringement decision finding that communications on pricing intentions between warehouse operators amounted to a concerted practice that restricted competition by object under Singapore competition law.

On appeal, the Competition Appeal Board ('CAB') found that the CCS did not adequately assess the relevant market context in determining that the communications were, by their very nature, so likely to harm competition as to restrict competition by object. The CAB allowed the appeal and set aside the CCS's infringement decision.

Our role

As part of the CCS's appeal to the High Court, Compass Lexecon advised the CCS on the economic considerations in determining whether conduct restricts competition by object, including the relevance of economic context in that assessment.

Outcome

The High Court, having considered EU and English case law, found that the CCS had given sufficient regard to the economic context in concluding that the conduct constituted a restriction of competition by object. The High Court therefore allowed CCS's appeal, setting aside the CAB's decision and restoring the CCS's infringement decision.

The team

The Compass Lexecon team was led by Justin Coombs and Vanessa Zhang, supported by Richard Zhao, Verdi Choo, Jin Kiat Tan, William Bian, Cecilia Li, Janet Cao, and Luna Lu.