Competition Act, 2002
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Protections for person reporting breaches of Act. |
50.—(1) A person who, apart from this section, would be so liable shall not be liable in damages in respect of the communication, whether in writing or otherwise, by him or her to the Authority of his or her opinion that— | |
(a) an offence under section 6 or 7 has been or is being committed, or | ||
(b) any other provision of this Act that prohibits an undertaking from doing a particular thing or things has not been or is not being complied with, | ||
unless it is proved that he or she has not acted reasonably and in good faith in forming that opinion and communicating it to the Authority. | ||
(2) The reference in subsection (1) to liability in damages shall be construed as including a reference to liability to be the subject of an order providing for any other form of relief. | ||
(3) An employer shall not penalise an employee for having formed an opinion of the kind referred to in subsection (1) and communicated it, whether in writing or otherwise, to the Authority if the employee has acted reasonably and in good faith in forming that opinion and communicating it to the Authority. | ||
(4) Schedule 3 shall have effect for the purposes of subsection (3). | ||
(5) A person who states to the Authority that an undertaking has committed or is committing an offence under section 6 or 7 or has failed or is failing to comply with a provision of this Act referred to in subsection (1)(b) knowing that statement to be false shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment. | ||
(6) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 , summary proceedings for an offence under subsection (5) may be instituted within 2 years after the day on which the offence was committed or, if later, 2 years after the day on which evidence that, in the opinion of the person by whom the proceedings are brought, is sufficient to justify the bringing of the proceedings comes to that person's knowledge. | ||
(7) For the purposes of subsection (6), a certificate signed by or on behalf of the person bringing the proceedings as to the day on which the evidence referred to in that subsection relating to the offence concerned came to his or her knowledge shall be prima facie evidence thereof and in any legal proceedings a document purporting to be a certificate issued for the purpose of this subsection and to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed and shall be admitted as evidence without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate. | ||
(8) Subsection (1) is in addition to, and not in substitution for, any privilege or defence available in legal proceedings, by virtue of any enactment or rule of law in force immediately before the commencement of this section, in respect of the communication by a person to another (whether that other person is the Authority or not) of an opinion of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1). |