23 - Competition Law Sanctions in Hungary

Summary

The Hungarian country report provides an overview of the effectiveness of substantive antitrust fines in Hungary. It summarizes the rules governing the sanctions for antitrust infringements, primarily focusing on the logic behind the relevant soft law instruments on fine-setting issued by the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH). It also reflects on certain material investigation issues such as the goals of sanctioning, corporate parental liability, and the legal discretion of the association of undertakings. The chapter covers the core numbers in the GVH’s sanctioning practice, while the case history appendix provides an exhaustive list of established infringements by each undertaking, showing the exact fining details and the results of the court review procedures for the last ten years. The report formulates the results of an empirically based research conducted among private practitioners on the perception of the effectiveness of competition law sanctions. The qualitative survey explores attitudes toward existing regulation through competition law sanctions and the application thereof by the GVH. The data indicate a collective openness to enhancing the effectiveness of substantive antitrust sanctions in Hungary.