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English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.

Federal Act
on Cartels and other
Restraints of Competition

(Cartel Act, CartA)

of 6 October 1995 (Status as of 1 January 2011)

The Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation

based on Articles 27 paragraph 1, 96¹, 97 paragraph 2 and 122² of the Federal Constitution³,⁴ in implementation of the competition law provisions contained in international agreements, and having considered the Federal Council Dispatch of 23 November 1994⁵,

decrees:

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Art. 1 Purpose

Art. 2 Scope

Art. 3 Relationship to other statutory provisions

Art. 4 Definitions

Chapter 2: Substantive Provisions

Section 1: Unlawful Restraints of Competition

Art. 5 Unlawful agreements affecting competition

Art. 6 Categories of agreements affecting competition that are deemed justified

Art. 7 Unlawful practices by dominant undertakings

Art. 8 Exceptional authorisation for compelling public interest reasons

Section 2: Concentrations of Undertakings

Art. 9 Notification of planned concentrations

Art. 10 Assessment of concentrations

Art. 11 Exceptional authorisation for compelling public reasons

Chapter 3: Civil Procedure

Art. 12 Rights arising from a hindrance of competition

Art. 13 Enforcement of the right to elimination and desistance

Art. 14

Art. 15 Assessment of the legality of a restraint of competition

Art. 16 and Art. 17

Chapter 4: Administrative Procedure

Section 1: Competition Authorities

Art. 18 Competition Commission

Art. 19 Organisation

Art. 20 Internal rules of procedure

Art. 21 Decisions

Art. 22 Recusal of members of the Competition Commission

Art. 23 Duties of the Secretariat

Art. 24 Secretariat's staff

Art. 25 Official and business secrets

Section 2: Investigation of Restraints of Competition

Art. 26 Preliminary investigation

Art. 27 Opening an investigation

Art. 28 Publication

Art. 29 Amicable settlement

Art. 30 Decision

Art. 31 Exceptional authorisation

Section 3: Review of Concentrations of Undertakings

Art. 32 Opening an investigation

Art. 33 Investigation procedure

Art. 34 Legal effect

Art. 35 Failure to comply with the notification requirement

Art. 36 Exceptional authorisation procedure

Art. 37 Restoration of effective competition

Art. 38 Revocation and revision

Section 4: Procedure and Rights of Appeal

Art. 39 Principle

Art. 40 Duty to provide information

Art. 41 Administrative assistance

Art. 42 Investigative measures

Art. 42a Investigations in proceedings under the Swiss/EC Air Transport Agreement

Art. 43 Participation of third parties in the investigation

Art. 44

Section 5: Other Duties and Powers of the Competition Authorities

Art. 45 Recommendations to authorities

Art. 46 Opinions

Art. 47 Expert reports

Art. 48 Publication of decisions and judgments

Art. 49 Duty to provide information

Section 6: Administrative Sanctions⁶

Art. 49a Sanction for unlawful restraints of competition

Art. 50 Breaches of amicable settlements and administrative decisions

Art. 51 Breaches in the context of concentrations of undertakings

Art. 52 Other breaches

Art. 53 Procedure

Section 7: ⁷ Fees

Art. 53a

Chapter 5: Criminal Sanctions

Art. 54 Violations of amicable settlements and administrative orders

Art. 55 Other violations

Art. 56 Limitation period

Art. 57 Procedure and legal remedies

Chapter 6: Implementation of International Agreements

Art. 58 Ascertainment of the facts

Art. 59 Elimination of incompatibilities

Chapter 6a:⁸ Evaluation

Art. 59a

Chapter 7: Final Provisions

Art. 60 Implementation

Art. 61 Repeal of current legislation

Art. 62 Transitional provisions

Art. 63 Referendum and commencement

Final provision to the amendment of 20 June 2003⁹

If an existing restraint of competition is reported or terminated within one year of Article 49a coming into force, any charge in accordance with that provision shall be waived.

Commencement date: Articles 18-25 on 1 February 1996¹⁰ all other provisions on 1 July 1996¹¹

Annex Amendment of Federal Acts

AS 1996 546

¹ This provision corresponds to Art. 31^bis of the Federal Constitution of 29 May 1874 [BS 1 3].
² This provision corresponds to Art. 64 of the Federal Constitution of 29 May 1874 [BS 1 3].
³ SR 101
⁴ Amended in accordance with No. I of the Federal Act of 20 June 2003, in force since 1 April 2004 (AS 2004 1385 1390; BBl 2002 2022 5506).
⁵ BBl 1995 I 468
⁶ Originally before Art. 50.
⁷ Inserted by No. I of the Federal Act of 20 June 2003, in force since 1 April 2004 (AS 2004 1385 1390; BBl 2002 2022 5506).
⁸ Inserted by No. I of the Federal Act of 20 June 2003, in force since 1 April 2004 (AS 2004 1385 1390; BBl 2002 2022 5506).
⁹ AS 2004 1385; BBl 2002 2022 5506
¹⁰ Federal Council Decree of 24 Jan. 1996 (AS 1996 562)
¹¹ Ordinance of 17 June 1996 (AS 1996 1805)