Vilnius, May 14, 2025 – The Lithuanian Regional Administrative Court (RAT) has ruled in favor of Estonian company MM Grupp, bringing an end to a legal dispute over the extension of interim measures previously imposed by the Lithuanian Competition Council.
In a decision dated May 13, the court annulled a March 14 resolution by the Competition Council, which had extended interim measures on MM Grupp for an additional three months. The measures were originally introduced in April 2023 as part of an investigation into a suspected violation of the Competition Law related to the cinema market.
The court based its ruling on a recent interpretation issued by the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court, which clarified that once a court-imposed shortened period for interim measures expires, the Competition Council must apply new measures afresh, rather than simply extend the existing ones. The RAT concluded that the Council had overstepped its authority by prolonging the measures instead of initiating a new application.
Acknowledging the evolving judicial practice and the fact that the underlying investigation into MM Grupp’s actions has been completed, the Competition Council accepted the court’s decision and announced it would not appeal.
The interim measures were originally implemented to prevent serious and irreversible harm to effective competition in Lithuania’s cinema sector. As previously reported, the Competition Council last week formally notified MM Grupp of a possible infringement of competition rules related to the implementation of a merger without prior authorization from the authority.
Source: https://kt.gov.lt/lt/naujienos/teismas-baige-ginca-del-laikinuju-priemoniu-pratesimo-mm-grupp
