MY ACCOUNTThe Wane group case has shed light on the question of legal autonomy in French Polynesia. (Decision No. 20-D-18 of the ADLC of 18 November 2020)
The French Competition Authority (‘’FCA’’) recently declared to be jurisdictionally incompetent to rule on abuses of dominance implemented in French Polynesia, stating that territorial independence prevailed, therefore competition law of the relevant territory applied and the FCA had no jurisdiction to apply Polynesian competition law.
The decision comes after numerous procedures were initiated in the context of a legal proceeding brought by the Polynesian Competition Authority against the Wane group, a retail distributor in French Polynesia, for operating alleged high prices.
The case reveals interesting precisions on the territorial application of French law and the jurisdictional independence of some overseas regulatory bodies such as the Polynesian Competition Authority.
Vogel & Vogel represented the Wane group since the beginning of the procedures. The team was composed of Joseph Vogel (Partner) Laurence Boudailliez (non-equity Partner) and Anaïs Hirszowski (Associate).
Polynesian drinks suppliers Brapac and Sodispo were represented by Viguié-Schmidt.
