Commentary on Sections Introduction Chapter 2: Public interest cases
323.Chapter 2 (sections 139-153) establishes a mechanism that allows the Secretary of State to intervene in cases where she considers that her intervention is justified by wider public interest considerations. This arrangement operates independently of the Ministerial power to make references (see section 132). Where an ‘intervention notice’ is in force, the Secretary of State’s approval is required before the acceptance of undertakings in lieu of a reference (see section 150), and the Secretary of State, rather than the CC, becomes the decision-taker on remedies after a CC investigation (see section 147). The flowchart at Annex C illustrates the procedure.