The Competition Tribunal of South Africa

The Competition Tribunal was established in 1998 by the Competition Act. In 1998, the democratic government of South Africa established a new framework of competition regulation. Three independent bodies, which replaced the Competition Board, were created by the Act. These are the Competition Commission, the Competition Tribunal and the Competition Appeal Court. This Act also made it compulsory for firms to notify the Commission and/or the Tribunal about mergers and acquisitions above a certain monetary threshold. The Commission is the investigation and enforcement agency. The Tribunal is the adjudicative body, very much like a court. The Appeal Court considers appeals against decisions of the Tribunal. In practice, the Competition Act regulates two broad areas of competition: mergers and acquisitions and prohibited practices (anti-competitive conduct). In relation to mergers, the Commission investigates and makes a decision about intermediate mergers. With large mergers...