Discuții privind de unele aspecte legate de aplicabilitatea în dreptul concurenței a prevederilor legale în materie de prescripție a contravențiilor
Discussions on aspects related to the applicability of the legal provisions regarding the prescription of minor offences in the competition law

Summary/Abstract: In the matter of extinctive prescription, the Decree no. 167/1958 represents common law, namely it is applicable not only in the matter of actions derived from the private law relationships, but also in other matters specific to the public law, but only provided that the latter matters do not have their own regulations and the principles of the public law are compatible with the provisions of the Decree no. 167/1958. In the matter of competition law, in the case of minor offences subject to the Competition Law no. 21/1996, the prescription of enforcing penalties for minor offences is and shall remain subject to special regulations and, in the situation in which such penalties are insufficient, to the provisions of the Government Ordinance no. 2/2001 on the legal system of minor offences – the “common law” in the matter of minor offences –, supplemented, as the case may be, with the incidental criminal provisions, which represents, in its turn, the “common law” in the matter of crimes and minor offences. Nevertheless, in case the latter provisions are insufficient, as well, the provisions of the Decree no. 167/1958 shall be applicable, as the “common law” in the matter of extinctive prescription in the Romanian law, but only provided that they are compatible with the nature and specificity of the extinctive prescription in the administrative law (offences). Consequently, in case of the minor offences regulated by the Competition Law, in the initial form, the (general) prescription period of the enforcement of a penalty for offences is 6 months, according to art. 13 of the Government Ordinance no. 2/2001, and not the (general) prescription period of 3 years, provided by art. 3 of the Decree no 167/1958. On the other hand, following the amendment of the Competition Law no. 21/1996 in 2003, the prescriptions started and not ended as at the effective date of the amending law are and shall remain subject to the prescription periods provided by the former law and, under no circumstances, to the prescription periods provided by the new law, which cannot be applied without violating the principle of the non-retroactivity of the new law on offences and the principle of applying the more favorable law on offences (mitior lex).

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