Competition law lebanon

What is the new competition law in Lebanon?
Lebanon: Lebanon enacted its first competition law in March 2022,¹¹ which requires the creation of a National Competition Authority (“NCA”) to oversee antitrust regulation and enforcement.
The new law prohibits certain anticompetitive horizontal and vertical agreements, as well as the abuse of dominant position._{Jan 27, 2023}.

Effectively enforcing the competition law can help Lebanon increase competition in highly concentrated industries, leading to favourable market conditions capable of attracting domestic and foreign investment, strengthening Lebanese international confidence and performance in international rankings.

Lebanon's new competition law also establishes a merger control regime that requires NCA clearance for transactions where the parties' combined market share exceed 30% of the relevant market. However, the new regime has not become operational, because the NCA has not been established yet.

Lebanon: Lebanon enacted its first competition law in March 2022,¹¹ which requires the creation of a National Competition Authority (“NCA”) to oversee antitrust regulation and enforcement. The new law prohibits certain anticompetitive horizontal and vertical agreements, as well as the abuse of dominant position.

Main Features

The Law abolishes exclusive dealerships and exclusive commercial representation as previously protected under Commercial Agency Law No. 34 of 1967.

Purpose

The purpose of the Competition Law is to promote and regulate free competition and prohibit trusts, monopolies and cartels.
The Law also aims to protect consumers’ rights, achieve economic efficiency, enhance production, innovation, technical development and maintain high quality of products.

Scope of Application

The Competition Law applies to:.
1) All activities of production, distribution and services carried out within the Lebanese territory, having anti-competitive effects in Lebanon, including economic activities carried out by legal persons of public law or carried out under concession contracts of public service.
2) All activities of production, distr.

Elections in Lebanon are allotted to occur every four years.
Every citizen is allowed to vote, but the positions are constitutionally allocated by religious affiliation.
In 2014, the Parliament failed to elect a president and extended its own term.

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and creeds and the exercise of all religious rites provided that the public order is not disturbed.
The Constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination or preference but establishes a balance of power among the major religious groups.
The Government generally respected these rights; however restricted the constitutional provision for apportioning political offices according to religious affiliation since the National Pact agreement.
There were periodic reports of tension between religious groups, attributable to competition for political power, and citizens continued to struggle with the legacy of the civil war that was fought along sectarian lines.
Despite sectarian tensions caused by the competition for political power, Lebanese continued to coexist.

Sectarianism in Lebanon refers to the formal and informal organization of Lebanese politics and society along religious lines.
It has been formalized and legalized within state and non-state institutions and is inscribed in its constitution.
Lebanon recognizes 18 different sects: 67.6% of the population is Muslim, 32.4% is Christian, the majority being Maronites Catholics and Greek Orthodox, while 4.52% is Druze.
The foundations of sectarianism in Lebanon date back to the mid-19th century during Ottoman rule.
It was subsequently reinforced with the creation of the Republic of Lebanon in 1920 and its 1926 constitution, and in the National Pact of 1943.
In 1990, with the Taif Agreement, the constitution was revised but did not structurally change aspects relating to political sectarianism.
The dynamic nature of sectarianism in Lebanon has prompted some historians and authors to refer to it as the sectarian state par excellence because it is a mixture of religious communities and their myriad sub-divisions, with a constitutional and political order to match.

Competition law lebanon

What is the new competition law in Lebanon?

Main Features

Purpose

Scope of Application