Impact of the Antitrust Reform Act – Changes in Appeals Process and Introduction of JFTC Pre-Order Hearing [Japanese version]
3 April 2015
On 1 April 2015, reforms to the Anti-Monopoly Act of Japan (the "Antitrust Reform Act"), which were approved on 7 December 2013, took effect.
Key Issues:
- The Antitrust Reform Act was enacted in response to criticism of post-order reviews held by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (the "JFTC"), namely, that it was unfair and insufficient from a due process perspective for the JFTC to alone decide whether the administrative order was proper.
- Key changes are: (i) abolishment of post-order reviews of the administrative order by the JFTC and introduction of judicial review by the Tokyo District Court; and (ii) establishment of the JFTC's pre-order hearing.