The National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) has sanctioned the Illustrious Bar Association of Barcelona (ICAB) with 500,000 euros for failing to comply with its resolutions on fees, as reported in a statement this Tuesday, a decision against which the ICAB will present an appeal.
It is worth remembering that the recent Justice Efficiency Law, published in the BOE on January 3 and which will mostly come into force on April 3, already allows Bar Associations to publish fees so that citizens can estimate the cost of initiate a judicial process and an order for costs.
In March 2018, the CNMC already sanctioned the ICAB and eight other associations for making price recommendations through the preparation, publication and dissemination of fee schedules, a conduct that was prohibited by the Competition Law.
After this, the ICAB provided some guiding criteria for the assessment of costs, adapting to compliance with the sanctioning resolution.
In February 2020, the CNMC issued another resolution within the framework of the monitoring procedure for the 2018 file in which it declared that these new criteria presented by the ICAB were adequate to comply with the resolution but that it would continue to monitor its performance.
However, the CNMC now assures that the ICAB disseminated these criteria in training sessions like real scaleswhich constitutes non-compliance with the 2018 and 2020 resolutions and is classified as a “very serious” infraction in the Competition Defense Law.
The College already paid the fine under an article of the law that allows the penalty to be reduced by 20% if it is paid in advance, for which it finally paid 400,000 euros.
The ICAB adds that its actions are supported by the approval of the Organic Law of the Right to Defense (LODD), which came into force on December 4, 2024 and which recognizes the right of anyone who goes to court to know in advance the cost. of a possible order for costs.
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