Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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The NMa’s investigation procedure for analogue and

digital data

Relevance for the Czech RepublicSt. Martin Conference

11 November 2010

Mr. Miriam van Heyningen M.Juris (Oxford)

Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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To indicate how you can profit from the NMa’s

investigation procedure for (analogue and) digital data:

Possibilities for, desirability of and expectations concerning informal harmonization within the EU

Similarity in legal background between NL, CZ and EU

Outline of the NMa’s procedure for digital data in practice

Purpose of this presentation

Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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Informal harmonization within the EU

Possibilities Same it-technigues Similar legal background Similar interests

• Limited amount of digital data less impact on undertakings’ rights• Limited amount of digital data better to handle• Digital data available at an earlier date

Desirability Profiting from each others experience More legal certainty

Expectations European Commission Member States

Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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Similarity in legal background between NL, CZ and EU Sufficiently limited scope of the investigation required (no fishing

expedition): Article 8 ECHR: right to a private and family life Dutch law provisions:

• Power to do a targeted inspection and copy data;• Proportionality principle

Dutch case law Sufficiently limited scope of the investigation is decisive and not the

content of the copied data When is the scope of the investigation sufficiently limited?

“Within scope” are those data that could reasonably fall within the purpose of the investigation based on their nature or content (not “relevant”)

“Possibly out of scope”-data require a further limitation in scope (in the presence of the undertaking)

Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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inbox a and b, part of file-server a and b, labtop a, usb-stick b

static dataset (sealed)

search questions

“within scope” “possibly out of scope”

Outline of the NMa’s procedure for the investigation of digital data in practice: “Preferred method”

Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit

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Questions or other reactions?