Humphreys, Russell2024-06-252024-06-252023Humphreys, Russell. (2023). Condonation of non-compliance under section 67(1) of the competition act 89 of 1998 [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38744https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38744A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws by Coursework and Research Report at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023The Competition Commission has long sought to extend its powers to investigate and refer complaints to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution. Prior to the decision of the Constitutional Court in the case of the Competition Commission of South Africa v Pickfords Removals SA (Pty) Limited 2021 (3) SA 1 (CC) (the ‘Pickfords’ case), the power of the Commission to initiate investigations and therefore refer matters to the Competition Tribunal was limited by section 67(1) of the Act. Those accused of breaching the Competition Act 89 of 1998 have, in their defence, relied on the limitations of section 49B of the Competition Act - the procedure for initiating a complaint and section 67(1) which provides for a time limitation on initiating/referring a complaint to the Competition Tribunal. The Constitutional Court in the Pickfords case considered whether in light of section 34 of the Constitution, section 67(1) of the Competition Act should be interpreted as an absolute bar (a prescriptive provision) or procedural time bar (capable of condonation). Section 67(1) was, however, amended in 2018 to limit the referral of a compliant to the Tribunal to no more than three years after the practice ceased. This paper considers the statutory limitations on the Commission to initiate and refer complaints to the Competition Tribunal in terms of sections 49B, 50, 67(1) and section 58(1)(c)(ii) and to examine how these limitations have been by interpreted by our courtsen© 2023 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Competition CommissionCompetition Commission of South AfricaUCTDSDG-17: Partnerships for the goalsDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg