Ryanair Holdings Plc v The Office of Fair Trading & Anor

Ryanair Holdings Plc v The Office of Fair Trading & Anor

The OFT was entitled to rely on s.122(4) Enterprise Act 2002 to make a reference to the Competition Commission outside the normal four-month period because the duty of sincere cooperation under EU law, arising from the ECMR process and pending appeals, precluded it from acting earlier. The risk of jurisdictional conflict persisted until all EU appeals were exhausted, and s.122(4) was the statutory mechanism to address this. The appeal was dismissed.

Parties
Appellant: Ryanair Holdings PLC; 1st Respondent: The Office of Fair Trading; 2nd Respondent (supporting the 1st Respondent): Aer Lingus Group PLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
22 May 2012
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal From the Competition Appeal Tribunal to the Court of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Merger Control, Jurisdictional Conflict, Duty of Sincere Cooperation, Time Limits for Merger References, Primacy of EU Law
Competition Law European Union Law Administrative Law Merger Control Jurisdictional Conflict Duty of Sincere Cooperation Time Limits for Merger References Primacy of EU Law

Case Brief

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Parties

Ryanair Holdings PLC

Appellant

The Office of Fair Trading

1st Respondent

Aer Lingus Group PLC

2nd Respondent (supporting the 1st Respondent)

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal From the Competition Appeal Tribunal to the Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the OFT was entitled to refer a merger situation to the Competition Commission more than four months after the merger, relying on s.122(4) Enterprise Act 2002 due to the ECMR process and appeals.
  2. 2 Whether the duty of sincere cooperation under EU law required the OFT to refrain from making a reference during pending appeals before the EU courts.
  3. 3 Whether the time limits for UK merger references were extended by the operation of EU law and the appeals process.

Ratio Decidendi

The OFT was entitled to rely on s.122(4) Enterprise Act 2002 to make a reference to the Competition Commission outside the normal four-month period because the duty of sincere cooperation under EU law, arising from the ECMR process and pending appeals, precluded it from acting earlier. The risk of jurisdictional conflict persisted until all EU appeals were exhausted, and s.122(4) was the statutory mechanism to address this. The appeal was dismissed.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed.