The Saeima Legal Affairs Committee has supported at first reading amendments to the Law on Operational Activities, which clarify the procedure for using and transferring information obtained in the course of operational measures in other proceedings. They will ensure a more effective fight against cartels and will also expand the possibilities of detecting other crimes.
The amendments were prepared in response to a judgment of the Supreme Court Senate in the so‑called construction company cartel case, in which it was concluded that the current regulation of the Law on Operational Activities does not provide for the possibility to use materials from intercepted conversations obtained during operational activities in administrative proceedings to prove infringements of competition law.
“Cartel agreements are among the most serious infringements of competition law. These amendments will help to protect more effectively both the national economy and consumer interests,” said the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee Andrejs Judins.
The purpose of the draft law is to ensure greater legal clarity regarding the transfer of information obtained in the course of operational measures to other institutions for the achievement of purposes not originally envisaged. The amendments provide that such information may be transferred to other institutions where this is necessary for the protection of important state or public interests and where the scope and content of the information to be transferred does not result in a disproportionate interference with a person’s fundamental rights.
The drafters of the bill stress that in the course of operational activities so‑called incidental information is often obtained which is not directly related to the initial objective of the operational activity, but may be important for the detection of other infringements. A prohibition on transferring such information in other proceedings may hinder the detection of significant infringements, including in cases of competition law violations.
For the amendments to enter into force, they must be approved by the Saeima in three readings. The Committee will request that this draft law be included on the agenda of this week’s Saeima sitting.
Originally published at https://inc-baltics.com/likumsargi-drikstes-noklausities-kartelu-veidotajus/
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