Denmark - International Encyclopaedia of Laws

92–98Chapter 2. Scope of Application§1. TERRITORIAL REACH92. Denmark’s Competition Act only applies to restrictions that have an effecton Danish territory. All restrictive actions that have an effect on the Danish marketcan be targeted by the Competition Act, regardless of the nationality or place ofbusiness of the parties involved.93. If the EU competition rules apply to the conduct, these rules will take precedenceover the Danish Competition Act, and the Danish competition authoritieswill be obliged to transfer the case to the European Commission.94. Greenland and the Faroe Islands have their own competition laws and arenot subject to the Danish Competition Act.§2. SPECIAL SECTORS95. Several sectors of the Danish market are subject to specific rules that deviatefrom the general provisions of the Competition Act.96. Some statutory barriers to entry still exist in the Danish market, a majoritystemming from legal requirements to acquire state authorization before conductingcertain professions, for example, lawyers, doctors and accountants. Also, some marketsectors are still controlled by the state, and in those sectors only state-licensedundertakings can compete. The energy, public transport and postal service sectorshave all traditionally been controlled by the state. However, it is the telecommunicationsand insurance sectors that have retained special legal provisions unique totheir areas.I. Telecommunication97. The telecommunications sector is governed by the Tele Competition Act,which exists in parallel to the Competition Act but applies lex specialis. 11. The doctrine provides that a law governing a specific subject matter (lex specialis) is not overriddenby a law which only governs general matters (lex generalis).98. Containing a specific set of rules for the telecommunication sector,Denmark’s Tele Competition Act is based upon a number of EU directives. Therules differ from the provisions in the Competition Act, reflecting the traditionallymonopolistic nature of this market.36 – Denmark Competition Law – (February 2011)