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Empowering the Competition Authorit

Empowering the Competition Authority to Take Key Decisions
The Egyptian Competition Authority (officially named the Authority for the Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices) was established by virtue of Law No. 3 of 2005 in order to be the regulatory authority in charge of promoting competition in Egypt and combating monopolies.
All Key Decisions to Be Taken by Authority
That is why the Prime Minister recently issued – in early January 2013 – Decree No. 12 of 2013 abolishing Prime Minister Decree No. 897 of 2012 which accorded those powers to the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade.[1] A month later, i.e. on February 6th, 2013, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 67 of 2013 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 30, on February 6th, 2013) delegating his authorities under the Com- petition Law to the Chairperson of the Competition Authority, Dr. Mona El-Garf, including the power to file for law suits and to settle disputes with those accused of breaking the Law. But in spite of the efforts that were employed in establishing the Competition Authority and the training of its staff and drafting of it internal policies, it failed from the outset to acquire enough credibility in the public opinion especially with respect to the independence of its decisions from the executive Government, in particular as a result of the fact that the competent minister continued to have significant powers in managing its affairs and concluding settlements on its behalf. This is a welcome development and a much-awaited change because it finally empowers the Authority to be the full and independent regulator of competition and removes the conflict with the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade.   [1] Prime Minister’s Decree No. 12/2013 abolishing Prime Minister’s Decree No. 897/2012 which accorded certain powers to the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade, Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 5 (bis), 6 January 2013.
The Egyptian Competition Authority (officially named the Authority for the Protection of Competition and Prevention of Monopolistic Practices) was established by virtue of Law No. 3 of 2005 in order to be the regulatory authority in charge of promoting competition in Egypt and combating monopolies.
All Key Decisions to Be Taken by Authority
That is why the Prime Minister recently issued – in early January 2013 – Decree No. 12 of 2013 abolishing Prime Minister Decree No. 897 of 2012 which accorded those powers to the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade.[1] A month later, i.e. on February 6th, 2013, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 67 of 2013 (Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 30, on February 6th, 2013) delegating his authorities under the Com- petition Law to the Chairperson of the Competition Authority, Dr. Mona El-Garf, including the power to file for law suits and to settle disputes with those accused of breaking the Law. But in spite of the efforts that were employed in establishing the Competition Authority and the training of its staff and drafting of it internal policies, it failed from the outset to acquire enough credibility in the public opinion especially with respect to the independence of its decisions from the executive Government, in particular as a result of the fact that the competent minister continued to have significant powers in managing its affairs and concluding settlements on its behalf. This is a welcome development and a much-awaited change because it finally empowers the Authority to be the full and independent regulator of competition and removes the conflict with the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade.   [1] Prime Minister’s Decree No. 12/2013 abolishing Prime Minister’s Decree No. 897/2012 which accorded certain powers to the Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade, Egyptian Gazette, Issue No. 5 (bis), 6 January 2013.