Competition/antitrust has gained in importance in Serbia and other countries in the region, as the Western Balkans prepares for EU membership. While the local competition rules are generally based on the EU model, there are local peculiarities and practice which makes local expertise essential.
Our competition team is well versed both in local competition rules and in the relevant EU acquis. The competence of our competition lawyers is unparalleled in the Serbian market – two of our partners have a PhD in competition law. Such expertise, combined with our lawyers’ practical experience, enables us to swiftly and accurately respond to all competition-related queries.
We cover all areas of competition law (restrictive agreements abuse of dominance, merger control and state aid) and have significant experience in these fields.
In the area of restrictive agreements, our lawyers have drafted a number of individual exemption request to the Serbian, Montenegrin, and Bosnian competition authority, respectively. They have also defended undertakings in antitrust probes, both related to restrictive agreements and with respect to alleged abuse of dominance.
In the area of merger control, our lawyers have prepared dozens of merger filings throughout the region – in no-issue extraterritorial transactions and complex Phase II procedures alike.
We also regularly advise on state aid issues, both as part of wider transaction support and as stand-alone issues.
Our practice
Restrictive agreements
- Analysis of horizontal and vertical agreements from, in particular from the perspective of block exemption rules
- Drafting and submission of individual exemption requests to the competition authority
- Drafting and submission of leniency applications
- Representing clients in antitrust proceedings before the competition authority
Abuse of dominance
- Analysis of commercial policies of dominant undertakings
- Drafting commercial policies of dominant undertakings to ensure they are in line with the applicable competition regulations
- Representing clients in abuse of dominance cases before the competition authority
Merger control
- Drafting and submission of merger filings
- Analysis of the applicable merger filing thresholds and accompanying issues
- Representing clients in Phase II merger probes with respect to combinations which may raise competition concerns
State aid
- Analysis of state support to undertakings from the perspective of the applicable state aid rules
- Representing clients in the notification procedure before the state aid control authority
Advisory
- Drafting the company’s antitrust compliance documents
- Training of the client’s management employees on the relevant competition law issues
- Competition law analysis as part of due diligence procedures
Competition litigation
- Representing clients in competition litigation cases, both on the side of plaintiff and on the side of plaintiff
- Advising clients on alternative dispute resolution of competition claims
How we stand out?
- Expertise
- We are proud to be the only competition team in the region with two attorneys who hold a PhD in competition law.
- Merger filing app
- We have developed an innovative way of checking the merger filing thresholds in the Western Balkans. The app can be accessed here.
- Competition blog
- Our competition blog (gajin.rs) is possibly the most relevant source of competition news and insights concerning the Western Balkans.
- Competition newsletter
- Each month, our competition team publishes a competition newsletter about the latest developments in the Western Balkans. It is the only such publication around. To subscribe, please click here.
- Regional approach
- We fully understand that our clients often view the Western Balkans as one market. So do we – our lawyers have a plethora of experience throughout the region.
Contact
Dr. Dragan Gajin
PARTNER
Tel. +381 (0)11 414 33 60 (switchboard)
+381 (0)62 767 883 (cell)
E-mail: dragan.gajin@doklestic.law