The Restrictive Trade Practices Tribunal has approved the settlement between Antitrust Authority director general Ronit Kan and Strauss-Elite Ltd. (TASE:STEL) in the Cadbury affair, in which Elite tried to prevent Carmit Ltd. from marketing Cadbury chocolate in Israel. Kan replaced an indictment against Elite with an administrative order that required the company to pay NIS 5 million and refrain from similar practices in the future.
Carmit and Ometz Center for Civic Education objected to the administrative order. Ometz said that the evidence gathered by the Antitrust Authority was sufficient for punishing those responsible in the case.
Judge Miriam Mizrahi said that Kan’s reasons for opting for an agreed-upon administrative order over an indictment or other means of enforcement were persuasive. She said Kan’s statement that there was insufficient evidence for an indictment should be accepted, and that the administrative order was the best way to enforce the law.
Judge Mizrahi said that filing an indictment, “even if it fulfills the criminal aspects, has its own disadvantages. Experience shows that adjudication of cases of this kind take a long time, and greatly burden the courts’ time and ability to devote resources to other matters.” She said the fine imposed on Strauss-Elite under the administrative order was sufficient to be a deterrent.
Carmit said in response, “The agreed-upon administrative order in the case is a loss for the Israeli consumer.”
Carmit managing director Leonard Sackstein said, “Since the investigation began, the following events have occurred in practice: Cadbury products cannot be found on Israeli shelves, competition in the chocolate market has been reduced, and Carmit has suffered heavy financial damage from Elite’s actions in the affair.”
Sackstein said that, in the end, the Antitrust Authority failed to protect Israeli consumers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 11, 2007
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