On 28th July, 2004 the Competition Authority adopted a "Notice in respect of legal representation of persons attending before the Competition Authority". The Competition Authority in its Notice specifies that in general, the Authority is of the view that the integrity of its processes is, or is likely to be, compromised if the same lawyer represents more than one person in any particular matter, be it two parties to an investigation or a party to an investigation and a witness relevant to the investigation. The Notice specifies that, as a general rule, the Competition Authority will not permit the same lawyer to represent both persons. The Notice acknowledges that an exception may be made on application to the Competition Authority where the Competition Authority is satisfied that the integrity of its process will not be compromised. The Notice also states that notwithstanding the above, the Competition Authority will permit the same lawyer to act for more than one person in the course of the review of a merger or acquisition pursuant to part 3 of the Competition Act, 2002 unless the Authority is of the opinion in any particular case that such representation has the potential to compromise the integrity of the review process.

November 2004.

For further information please contact Marco Hickey.