On 18 February 2015 the Brussels Court of Appeal ruled that dawn raids carried out on the basis of Belgian competition law require prior authorisation by an independent judge.
The current version of the Belgian Competition Act reflects this constitutional requirement, but the Belgian Competition Authority had contested its applicability to dawn raids that were carried out under prior versions of the act. The Brussels Court of Appeal also ruled that no documents obtained during or following an unauthorised dawn raid may be used as evidence in infringement proceedings.
Eubelius partner Hans Gilliams, head of our Competition practice, served as counsel to one of the applicants in these proceedings.