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The Impartiality Principle in Competition Law
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Since its beginnings, the Competition Board has investigated and
prepared reports on whether parties have violated the Act on the Protection
of Competition numbered 4054 under the presidency of one board member.
These reports would be signed by the investigating board member as the
“President of the Investigation Council”.
In many lawsuits initiated before the 10th and 13th Chambers of the
State Council, parties alleged that the Competition Board, which imposes
administrative sanctions with significant effects on interested parties, does
not comply with the principles of “independence and impartiality”
1
. In
addition, the parties sought the nullification of relevant Board decisions by
claiming that including the signatures of the investigating board members
on Competition Board decisions violates the principle of impartiality.
Both the 13th Chamber and the Board of Administrative Affairs of the
State Council have examined these allegations and established a precedent
by the decisions it has granted from 2005 until today.
First of all, the State Council decided that pursuant to Article 20 of the
Competition Act, the Competition Authority has a public legal personality
and administrative and financial autonomy; was established to ensure the
formation and development of markets for goods and services in a free and
sound competitive environment; has an obligation to implement this Act;,
and is to fulfill the duties assigned to it by the Act. Accordingly, it is also
stated that the Authority is independent in fulfilling its duties and that no
authority or person may give commands or orders to influence the final
decision of the Authority.
In evaluating the relevant provisions of the Competition Act, the State
Council determined that the Competition Board is a body charged with
evaluating competition in a relevant product or service market according
to the Competition Act and with imposing administrative sanctions of
significant impact for violations of the competition regulations. Therefore,
the State Council emphasized that the Competition Board’s duty to comply
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Article of September 2010
1 The awards of the State Council 13th Chamber 2005/1703P.-2005/3396D.; 2005/5534P.-
2005/3339D.; 2005/5535P-2005/3340D, the State Council Board of Administrative Affairs
2008/275P.-2010/590D.; 2007/724P.-2010/591D.; 2008/329P.-2010/593D, State Council 13th
Chamber 2009/4592P.-2010/5125D.; 2009/4593P.-2010/5126D.;2010/310P.-2010/5128D.