The Antitrust Review of the Americas 2011, by Brigard & Urrutia

The Antitrust Review of the Americas 2011

Published by Global Competition Review in association with Brigard & Urrutia, Bogotá

In a very careful and detailed piece, the lawyers of Brigard & Urrutia published near the end of last year an excellent overview of the evolving law of competition in Colombia, which was significantly reformed in mid-2009 (see my review of the new law from September 2009). Here is a start – follow the link to read the entire report.

Colombian antitrust laws and regulations have been enacted and issued in furtherance of article 333 of the political constitution. Pursuant to said article, the government is required to intervene in the Colombian economy in order to prevent unfair competition and anti-competitive conduct, and to ensure free and fair competition in all the local markets.

The legal framework governing antitrust matters in Colombia has two main sets of rules, ie,

• Law 155/59 sets forth the basic principles governing the Colombian antitrust and competition regime; and

• Decree 2153/92 determines the basic structure, scope of authority and powers of the competition authority and sets specific
rules governing anti-competitive conducts.

Law 155/59 and Decree 2153/92 have been recently amended by Law 1340/09, which was enacted with the purpose of updating certain aspects of the existing framework and improving the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce’s (SIC) ability to enforce the existing laws and regulations.  

Read more