The Competition Policy Advisory Group says the Government is working at full steam towards introducing the Competition Bill within this legislative session, taking account of stakeholders' comments and other issues.

In its 2008-09 Annual Report published today, the group said it plans to improve some of the original proposals for the competition law following a three-month public consultation last year.

Changes to the institutional arrangement for the competition regulatory regime are being considered - from the original civil administration model for enforcing the bill to a judicial model, under which the Competition Commission will only investigate and prosecute cases while the Competition Tribunal will be established as a special court within the Judiciary to hear and adjudicate on all cases of the competition law and hear private rights of action in all sectors.

To improve the law's clarity, the provisions on general prohibition against anti-competitive conduct will be supplemented with a non-exhaustive list of examples of such conduct, making it a statutory requirement for the commission to draw up regulatory guidelines on interpretation and implementation of the law in consultation with the public.

The bill should not apply to government activities and will not apply to statutory bodies unless otherwise specified. Discussion with bureaux and departments on the exemption arrangements for statutory bodies within their purview is underway.

The group, chaired by the Financial Secretary, will continue promoting its guidelines on competition while the bill is being prepared. Click here for the annual report.