The Case

The general approach to discovery before the Competition Appeal Tribunal was that it was not automatic. It needed to be ordered by the tribunal, usually upon a request by a party to the proceedings, and the tribunal had to be satisfied that the disclosure sought was necessary, relevant and proportionate to determine the issues before it, particularly where the information concerned was commercially confidential and belonged to a direct competitor of the party seeking access to it. In the instant case, where the applicants did not need any further data to make out their case, and their request for recovery and inspection of the various documents sought was neither proportionate nor necessary, it would be refused.