Commentary on Sections Chapter 4: Further Provisions about Regulation Section 174 and Schedule 22: Procedure on appeals
434.The effect of section 174 and Schedule 22 is to set out an appeals procedure whereby applicants have 15 working days (counting from the day after the day on which GEMA’s decision is published) to submit an appeal against a GEMA decision on a code modification to the Competition Commission. An application for permission to appeal must be accompanied by all such information as the Competition Commission may require under its appeal rules. The Competition Commission has 10 working days from the submission of the application to decide whether to grant or refuse the application for permission to appeal. GEMA has 15 working days after the submission of the application for permission to appeal to submit its representations or observations, should it choose to do so. The Competition Commission will then carry out a review to a tight timetable of whether GEMA discharged its duties correctly; this may include a hearing at which the parties can make representations and answer questions, and a further hearing to determine the appeal. It must normally reach its decision within 30 working days following the last day for the making of representations or observations by GEMA but it can extend this period by a maximum of 10 working days if necessary. The Competition Commission will be able to confirm or quash the original decision, or remit it to GEMA with directions to reconsider taking into account certain factors. This time line is presented below:
435.Further information can be found in the notes to Schedule 22.