Chapter III: Communication and production of documents

The judge may not order the Autorité de la concurrence, the minister responsible for the economy, any competition authority of another Member State or the European Commission to produce a document in its file where one of the parties or a third party is reasonably able to provide that document.

The judge may not enjoin the communication or production of a document comprising: 1° A written statement or transcript of oral statements voluntarily submitted to a competition authority by a person mentioned in Article L. 481-1 or on its behalf, and helping to establish the reality of an anti-competitive practice provided for in articles L. 420-1and 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to identify…

At the request of a party, the judge shall verify the content of the document in the file of a competition authority that is alleged to fall within the prohibition provided for in Article L. 483-5. To this end, he shall be provided with this document by the person or competition authority holding it and shall examine it alone. It may, without the presence of any other person, hear the…

Where only part of a document is covered by the prohibition set out in article L. 483-5, the other parts are communicated in accordance with the terms of this chapter.

As long as the proceedings concerned have not been closed by a decision adopted by the Autorité de la concurrence on the basis of I of article L. 464-2 and articles L. 462-8, L. 464-3, L. 464-6 or L. 464-6-1, by the Minister for the Economy on the basis of the first and second paragraphs of article L. 464-9 or by a competition authority of another Member State of the…

Articles L. 483-5 and L. 483-8 do not apply to a document that exists independently of the proceedings before a competition authority, whether or not it is in the file of that authority.

When a document not covered by the prohibitions set out in articles L. 483-5 and L. 483-8 has been obtained by a natural or legal person solely as a result of his access to the file of a competition authority, this document may only be used in the context of an action mentioned in this title by the said person or his beneficiary.

A decree in the Council of State shall specify the procedures for applying this title.