Cartel prohibition

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Companies are not allowed to make agreements or coordinate behaviour among themselves to restrict competition in the market. If companies do, they may be violating the cartel prohibition and risk a fine. Our specialists will be happy to advise you on this.

Price fixing

Anticompetitive agreements may violate the cartel prohibition. These may include price fixing between competitors, market sharing or a joint boycott. The cartel prohibition also plays an important role in (shaping) distribution systems and agreements between suppliers and buyers.

Knowing the limits

Agreements in violation of the cartel prohibition are null and void. This means they cannot be invoked. In addition, regulators such as the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets can impose hefty fines on companies and the commissioning party/actual managers of a cartel. Damages can also be claimed by aggrieved parties. Despite the fact that the cartel prohibition can be perceived in practice as restrictive, it must be said that many agreements remain possible. Knowing the limits of the cartel prohibition is therefore very important.

What we do

Our specialists advise and litigate on behalf of entrepreneurs and associations of entrepreneurs who may be faced with the cartel prohibition in some way or other. For example, our specialists help draw up and assess cooperation and distribution agreements and assist clients who violate or risk violating the cartel prohibition. In addition, our lawyers provide various compliance training courses.