Algeria: Law No. 08-12 amending and supplementing Ordinance No. 03-03 on competition including merger control regulation entered into force

On 2 July 2008, Law No. 08-12 amending and supplementing Ordinance No. 03-03 on competition entered into force. The law strengthened Algeria's merger control regime by requiring the Competition Council to authorise concentrations that could impact market competition (Article 19). Exemptions applied to mergers improving competitiveness, employment, or Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) market positions, provided they received Council approval (Article 21 bis). Decisions could be appealed to the Algiers Court within one month (Article 63).