The progress of the discussion of initiative 5074, Competition Law, which will enter second reading in the Plenary Session of the Congress of the Republic, will probably focus on how the proposed new regulatory authority will look, among other amendments.
And everything indicates that the batteries would be focused on articles related to the creation of an autonomous entity and there is a general consensus that this is necessary, as stated during the forum “When and why approve a Competition Law” which was organized by the Faculty of Law of the University of Istmo, and in which experts, government authorities, deputies and representatives of different business chambers participated.
Technical discussion
José Andrés Ardón, executive director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness (ICE), commented that at this time a technical discussion of potential amendments to bill 5074 is being observed, which he considered progress.
This is because the willingness of the deputies to move forward in the discussion has been seen, as well as the consensus in Congress, but it is considered important that this initiative be approved before the parliamentary recess “because the second half of the year looks complicated.”
Deputy Julio Héctor Estrada, one of the speakers during the forum, stated that the bill is technical and “I don’t like to call it competition law, but law against anti-competitive practicesbecause more than anything we want to avoid these practices.”
He confirmed that there is a fairly consensual structure and creates a legal framework that regulates some practices, leaves defense for others and creates specific procedures. “We are talking about a competition law to generate competitiveness. It is an institutional advance that will take years to generate the correct capabilities, but this discussion communicates a message of rule of law, since there are many companies – even multinationals – that engage in bad practices because they are not prohibited.
Amendments, critical issue
As the final stretch of discussion of the initiative approaches, it is expected that last-minute amendments will arise, which in the opinion of specialists, should not delay approval.
Ardón believes that the regulations should be clearer, privilege legal certainty, establish procedures proportional to the reality of the country and privilege economic efficiency, as a concept that must be respected, and the first thing is to prevent the regulations from being unconstitutional.
The second thing is that the law must be consistent, requiring that the authority have the burden of proof that certain absolute or relative behaviors are causing damage to the economy and that this authority be independent and autonomous.
Estrada Domínguez reiterated that everything concerning the evaluation commission, appointments, permanent directors and reviewing a part related to a repeal in the Commercial Code must be clear. Therefore, he insisted on being careful with the amendments that are approved.
Ardón seconded him, indicating that by approving amendments that have no logic or relationship between them, we end up with a law that contradicts itself and it is important that consensus in the Economy Commission be privileged.
Guarantee autonomy
César Sigüenza, director of the Technical Alliance for Legislative Support (Atal), added that this initiative has been discussed for a long time in Congress and has three opinions.
“Initiative 5074 contains the minimum elements for its approval, but the most in-depth discussion will take place on the authority, which must be independent, due to its technical nature, or most likely the competition law will not serve its purposes and would not benefit the operation.” From the market”.
In his opinion, if it is guaranteed that the authority finally enjoys these characteristics, a truly effective step could be taken for the rules to achieve their objectives.
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