Code of ethics

CHARTER FOR THE PREVENTION OF ANTI-COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Whereas:

1.

The Association Francophone de Rotomoulage [French-Speaking Rotomoulding Association] (AFR) is an association governed by the law of 1 July 1901 and the decree of 16 August 1901, with the principal objective of promoting the reputation of the rotomoulding procedure, as well as recognising and highlighting new market shares.

2.

The AFR and its members may have reason to exchange information, whether these exchanges are made in writing or not. In this regard, considering the small number of players on the rotomoulding market and the fact that certain members of the AFR may be competitors, the AFR and its members must assert particular vigilance with regard to compliance with applicable regulations, particularly in terms of competition.

3.

French law (Article L 420-1 of the Commercial Code) and European Union law (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) prohibit any agreements between enterprises, any decisions by associations of enterprises and any concerted practices which have the objective or the effect of hindering, restricting or distorting the effect of competition. In particular, behaviours consisting of the following are prohibited:

  • Limiting access to the market or the free exercise of competition by other enterprises;
  • Obstructing the free effect of the market to set prices, by artificially favouring an increase or reduction of prices;
  • Limiting or controlling production, outlets, investment or technical progress;
  • Distributing the markets or the supply sources.

French law (Article L 420-2 of the Commercial Code) and European Union law (Article 102 of the TFEU) also sanction enterprises that abuse their dominant position on the market or the condition of economic dependence in which a partner finds itself. 

This would be the case, for example, for behaviour that consists of refusing to sell solely for the reason that the partner refuses to submit to unjustified commercial conditions or to apply unequal conditions, with regard to partners, for equivalent services, thus inflicting on them a competitive disadvantage.

  • The sanctions that may be declared for violations of competition law may be particularly heavy, both for the enterprises or the organisations committing the violations and for their employees.

Thus, the members of the AFR have adopted this charter for the prevention of anti-competitive behaviours (hereafter referred to as the “Charter”).

Article 1 - Objective

1.1 This Charter defines the commitments of the AFR and each of its members in order to prevent any violation of French and European Union law with regard to competition in the relations between the AFR and its members, as well as in the relations between the members of the AFR in connection with their participation in the activities of the AFR.

1.2 The Charter completes the articles of association of the AFR. In the event of a contradiction between the provisions of the Charter and the provisions of the articles of association, the provisions of the articles of association shall prevail.

Article 2 - General Commitments by the AFR and the Members

2.1 The AFR will not tolerate or facilitate its members in undertaking anti-competitive practices, such as collaboration with regard to prices or sharing of markets, products or clientele.

2.2 Each member declares and guarantees to the AFR and to the other members that its participation in the activities of the AFR is solely and uniquely intended in order to realise the objectives of the AFR and that it shall not conceive of or implement any anti-competitive practice in the context of its participation in such activities.

Article 3 - Statistical Studies and Comparative Studies by the AFR

 3.1 The AFR shall only undertake statistical studies or comparative studies in order to offer to the members reliable information concerning the general condition of the market or to promote the development of good practices.

3.2 In the event the AFR undertakes statistical studies or comparative studies:

Any individual information that may be received by the AFR from a member shall be kept strictly confidential by the AFR and will not be used by the AFR for any purpose other than carrying out the study in question;

The individual information received by the AFR shall be aggregated in order to make it anonymous before it is disseminated; if the information received cannot be aggregated, the AFR shall not disseminate it and shall destroy such information.

Article 4 - Exchanges of Information between the Members of the AFR

 4.1 It is recalled that the principle of free competition assumes that each enterprise remains at all times able to make its own decisions autonomously and in uncertainty of the future behaviour of its competitors. Any exchange of information which reduces this uncertainty may have the effect of determining the behaviour of the enterprises on the market and, in this connection, this may be considered to be a concerted practice that is prohibited by competition law.

4.2 To the extent that they do not contravene the principle of free competition cited above, exchanges of information of a general nature, concerning the market overall or technical or socio-economic tendencies, are authorised in the context of the activities of the AFR.

In this connection, exchanges concerning the following are authorised in particular:

  • Statistical information concerning an entire market,
  • The general situation of production or sales on a market,
  • General information of a technical nature, such as information concerning production methods, technologies needed for the development of the sector, standardisation of products or compliance with norms,
  • General exchanges concerning the training or qualification of the personnel in a sector,
  • Exchanges of information between professionals in a sector and the public authorities,
  • General exchanges concerning new regulations applicable to all of the operators on a market.

4.3 Considering the risks that these present with regard to competition law, any exchanges of information that are specific to the enterprises, namely exchanges of information concerning the conduct of their business, even if this information is not strategic and even if it only concerns the past, are prohibited in the context of the activities of the AFR.

In this connection, exchanges concerning the following are prohibited in particular:

  • Sales prices, price scales, discounts, reductions and rebates, costs, margin levels, price structures,
  • Figures and volumes of production, purchasing, sales, import and export,
  • Market shares, granting of contracts to suppliers, obtaining contracts from clients,[OT41] 
  • Production capacities,
  • Sales policies,
  • Salary policies.

Article 5 - Information concerning the Representatives of the Members of the AFR

In connection with the activities of the AFR, each member must be represented by employees who have been informed in advance of the provisions of the Charter and the consequences of any inappropriate conduct by these representatives in connection with their participation in the activities of the AFR.

Article 6 - Organisation of Meetings within the AFR

For each meeting of the members that is held at the AFR, whether this is a statutory or a technical meeting, a precise agenda will be prepared and sent by the AFR to each member concerned, along with the convocation to the meeting. The secretariat for the meetings of the members organised by the AFR shall be provided by a representative of the AFR, the general delegate, with the exception of statutory meetings which are prepared jointly by the general delegate and the secretary of the association. Following each meeting of the members held at the AFR, detailed minutes, which faithfully transcribe both the objectives and the content of the discussions of the participants, shall be prepared by the AFR and sent to the members in question.

Article 7 – Sanctions

7.1 In the event of an exchange of information in the context of a meeting of the AFR that is prohibited under Article 4 of the Charter, the representative of the AFR providing the secretariat for the meeting, or the chairman of the meeting, if a chairman is appointed, may terminate the discussion and/or purely and simply exclude the contravening representatives from the meeting.

7.2 Any violation of one of the provisions of the Charter may be subject to sanctions that may be declared by the board of directors of the AFR in application of its articles of association.