Hungarian Competition Authority

Case number:

Vj-084/2007

Type of case:

Restrictive Agreement

Undertaking(s) concerned:

Békés Megyei Ügyvédi Kamara (Bar Association of Békés County, hereinafter BMÜK)

Short description:

The Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal, hereinafter: GVH) initiated a competition supervision proceeding against Békés Megyei Ügyvédi Kamara (Bar Association of Békés County, hereinafter BMÜK) for excessive and discriminatory registration fees.
The proceeding aimed to decide whether the above mentioned practice was suitable to restrict competition pursuant to the Hungarian Competition Act and Article 81 of the EC Treaty.

Decision:

The GVH ordered the BMÜK to comply with it commitments to
a) Determine the amount of the registration fee applicable to
- attorneys, European Community jurists and foreign legal counsels,
- those jurists, who pursued their legal practice required to pass the bar examination as an articled clerk registered by the BMÜK, and
- attorneys, who already were members of another regional bar association and wish to switch to BMÜK
in HUF 150 000 as effective from 30 November 2009; and
b) Increase the level of the registration fees at the maximum by the extent by which the amount of the yearly membership fee paid by the attorneys had been increased.

Date:

14 October 2009