The Court of Justice of the European Union recently issued a judgment in Case C-1/12, following a reference for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Lisbon Court of Appeals, in the dispute between the Order of Chartered Accountants (OTOC) and the Portuguese Competition Authority. 

The questions concerned the compatibility with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union of the Credits Formation Regulation, adopted by  OTOC in order to ensure the quality of the services provided, in particular in relation to its provisions on mandatory training of its members.

The Court of Justice ruled that such regulation integrates the notion of «decision taken by an association of undertakings» within the meaning of Article 101 of the Treaty, even though OTOC is compelled to enforce such a system. The fact that its legal rules do not affect directly the economic activity of its members is without prejudice to the application of said provision since the alleged infringement relates to a market in which it carries out an economic activity. 

Asked whether Community Law allows for a professional association to require, for the exercise of the profession, specific training exclusively carried out by it, the Court responded negatively, stating that such behavior represents a forbidden restriction, in so far as it eliminates competition in a substantial part of the market in favor of that professional association and establishes, on the other hand, discriminatory conditions regarding its competitors.