Competition Act 2002

28I

F141[Enforcement of certain determinations.

28I.(1) It shall be lawful for the High Court to grant an injunction on the motion of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland or any of the undertakings involved in the media merger to enforce compliance with the terms of a determination for the time being in force.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not affect any other right of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to bring proceedings (whether civil or criminal) for the enforcement of compliance with the terms of a determination.

(3) A person who contravenes (whether by act or omission) a provision of a determination for the time being in force commits an offence and shall be liable

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(4) Every person who aids, abets or assists another person, or conspires with another person, to do anything (whether by way of act or of omission) the doing of which is an offence by virtue of subsection (3) shall himself or herself commit an offence under this section and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(5) Where an offence under subsection (3) or (4) which is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any person who is a director, manager, secretary, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of any such body, or who is any other similar officer of any such body, that person shall also commit an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(6) Subsections (3), (4) and (5) operate so that if the contravention concerned continues one or more days after the date of its first occurrence, the person referred to in the subsection concerned is guilty of a separate offence under that subsection for each day that the contravention occurs, but in respect of the second or subsequent offence of which he or she is guilty by reason of that continued contravention, subsection (3) shall have effect as if

(a) in paragraph (a), "a class E fine" were substituted for "a class A fine", and

(b) in paragraph (b), "1,000" were substituted for "10,000".

(7) Summary proceedings in relation to an offence under this section may be brought by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

(8) In this section "determination" means a determination of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources made under section 28D or 28G.]

Annotations

Amendments:

F141

Inserted (31.10.2014) by Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014 (29/2014), s. 74, S.I. No. 401 of 2014, subject to transitional provisions in s. 6. A class A fine means a fine not greater than €5,000 as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 4(1), S.I. No. 662 of 2010.

A class E fine means a fine not greater than €500 as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 8(1), S.I. No. 662 of 2010.