A workshop under the title “Act on counteracting unfair contractual advantages in trade in agricultural and food products” was held on Friday, 20 October, 2017 in the Training and Conference Center of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection in Warsaw. This was the third in a series of workshops organized by the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection, Compass Lexecon and the Competition Law Association.

The Act on counteracting unfair contractual advantages in trade in agricultural and food products came into force in July 2017. The discussion during the third workshop on competition law economics concerned its meaning and consequences for the market. The meeting was a good opportunity to learn about experiences elsewhere in Europe resulting from their regulations on counteracting unfair contractual advantages.

The workshop was attended by foreign experts, including a representative of the Directorate-General for Competition, Mr. Philippe Chauve. The opening address was delivered by Michał Holeksa, Vice-Chairperson of the Office. 

The first part of the workshop was dedicated to emerging issues regarding the Act on counteracting unfair contractual advantages in trade in agricultural and food products.  The speakers presented their thoughts inter alia on public interest protected by the Act, unfair conduct examples, expected effects of the Act, possible problem areas and further legislative work at the EU level.  This panel was followed by a lively discussion moderated by Mr. Robert Gago.

The second part of the workshop dealt with international experience regarding agricultural and food products retail regulations.  The speakers presented salient issues from EU, French, British, Czech and Lithuanian perspectives. The comparative character of the panel inspired the workshop participants to share their observations during a discussion moderated by Ms. Małgorzata Modzelewska de Raad.

Please take a moment to look at the photos.