J. Sroczyński for WuW No. 3/2012 – The OCCP’s decision regarding the campaign by the Supreme Medical Council against the use of homeopathy

The OCCP issued a prohibition decision to the Supreme Medical Council (the “SMC”) and imposed a fine of 12,500 euro, for practices restricting competition on the medical services market. The SMC is an obligatory, professional organization of medical doctors which can apply sanctions up to expulsion from the medical practice. In 2008, the SMC issued an internal regulation which qualified homeopathy as an inadmissible form of the medical treatment. The SMC stated that doctors who prescribe homeopathic drugs violate the Ethical and Deontological Medical Code. Subsequently, the SMC commenced media campaign against homeopathy and instituted several disciplinary proceedings against doctors who apply homeopathic drugs. The OCCP found that the SMC violated the rules of competition, illegally limiting the free access to products admitted to turnover in Poland. Homeopathic drugs are registered by the Minister of Health and their status is regulated in the Pharmaceutical Law. The OCCP stated that the SMC has conferred itself the right to regulate the market in its own way, contrary to the mandatory laws. The OCCP’s decision was appealed by the SMC to the CCCP.

The OCCP prohibited concerted practices committed jointly by Polkomtel, PTC, PTK Centertel and P4, on the market for mobile television. The four companies, covering the whole Polish market of mobile telephony, agreed to block market entry of competitor Info-TV-FM, following its successful tendering from the telecom regulator of a digital television frequency. A joint venture of the four operators, which lost that bid, and its parents, engaged into a common negative campaign against Info-TV-FM. The OCCP secured evidence in a dawn raid and established that the boycott resulted in significant delay of Info-TV-FM’s start of operations. The OCCP emphasized that all violators were fully aware of the illegal nature of their actions. Fines in this case total to over 26 million euro.

The OCCP cleared several transactions related to an exit from the Polish energy market of Swedish Vattenfall. Tauron obtained approval for an indirect acquisition of two Vattenfall companies operating in the Silesia region, active in the energy distribution and sales sectors. Following this acquisition, Tauron became the largest player on the retail energy market. PGNiG, an oil-and-gas incumbent, received consent for an acquisition of the heating plant of Vattenfall, located in Warsaw.

The OCCP fined a local law firm 800 euro, issuing a prohibiting decision in relation to an anti-consumer clause applied by the firm in the legal services contract. The OCCP ruled that consumers should receive information not only on the net price for legal services but also on the gross price, including the applicable VAT tax. The law firm appealed the unfavorable decision to the CCCP.   

J. Sroczyński, Wirtschaft und Wettbewerb. Developments in national competition law, No. 3/2012.