competition appeal court

Babelegi Workwear and Industrial Supplies CC v. The Competition Commission

Open Secrets and Health Justice Initiative joint amici submission in South Africa’s first contested excessive pricing case in the Competition Appeal Court (CAC)

This was the first Covid-19 related case of excessive pricing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to be referred to the Competition Tribunal. The Tribunal found Babelegi guilty of excessive pricing on face masks and issued a fine of R76 000. Babelegi appealed the decision. The Competition Appeal Court also considered the application of the amended section 8 of the Competition Act for the first time. It does so in an unprecedented context of a worldwide pandemic.

Judgement

In a judgement dated 18 November 2020, the appeal by BABELEGI WORKWEAR AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES CC (“Babelegi”) against a decision of the Competition Commission and a finding of excessive pricing by the Competition Tribunal dated 1 June 2020, was dismissed.
*Despite multiple attempts over a period of more than six months, the Competition Appeal Court has not fixed its error in neglecting to cite the amici in this case, being the Health Justice Initiative, Open Secrets and the South African Human Rights Commission.

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judgement

On the 18th of November 2020, the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) dismissed Babelegi’s appeal in this matter.

Open Book

expert evidence

This is a matter involving constitutional issues. As the Constitutional Court has previously pointed out, constitutional matters present issues that have an impact beyond the parties directly litigating before the Court. We have argued that our evidence provides the factual foundation and context for our legal submissions. The evidence of our 4 expert witnesses support our case that an exceptional, and human-rights based, approach to excessive pricing jurisprudence is warranted in the context of a pandemic.