Since November 2 2015 CARS has started the research project on Complex analysis of decisions issued by the UOKiK President and judgements spoken by the courts in cases of appeals against decisions of UOKiK on fines imposed by the UOKiK President in proceedings on practices restricting collective interests of consumers. The project encompasses the analysis of all judgments spoken in last three years in cases of practices restricting competition at least by the Court of Consumer and Competition Protection and decisions preceding them taken by UOKiK in order to answer the following questions:
1) what are the most common reasons for the change of penalties, previously imposed by the UOKiK President, by courts
2) what circumstances other than those specified in the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Act (PCCPA) and Clarifications of the UOKiK President in the matter of imposing fines for practices restricting collective interests of consumers should be taken into account, according to the courts, while imposing penalties
3) whether it is possible to deduct from the courts’ jurisprudence any regularity concerning the methodology of measuring fines (setting importance of premises) and if yes, what is this methodology
4) whether there are any discrepancies (and if yes, what are they) in the attitude towards the fines imposed by the UOKiK President between the jurisprudence of different panels of judges in the same court and courts of different instances, e.g. SOKiK (Court of Competition and Consumer Protection), Court of Appeal in Warsaw and alternatively the Supreme Court (analysis of judgements changing or upholding penalties imposed by the UOKiK President).
