The President of the Competition Appeal Tribunal is pleased to announce that the Minister for Competition, Mr Edward Davey MP, has appointed Peter Freeman CBE QC to the Tribunal’s panel of Ordinary Members.
Notes :
1. Peter Freeman was Chairman of the Competition Commission from 2006 until May 2011. Prior to joining the Competition Commission he was head of the EC and Competition Law Group of the international law firm Simmons & Simmons. He was co-founder of, and until 2007, Chairman of the Regulatory Policy Institute, and is a member of the Advisory Boards of various competition law journals and academic bodies. In 2010 he was appointed Honorary Queen's Counsel and in the same year received a CBE.
2. Ordinary Members are selected for their expertise in law, business, accountancy, economics and other related fields.
3. Cases are heard before a Tribunal consisting of three members: either the President or a member of the panel of Chairmen and two Ordinary Members.
4. Following an open competition in 2010, the appointment of 15 new Ordinary Members was agreed by the Minister. The appointment of 14 was announced in January 2011 but Mr Freeman deferred acceptance of his appointment until the conclusion of his duties as Chairman and member of the Competition Commission.
5. Mr Freeman has been appointed for four years automatically renewable for a further four years, and will be paid according to the amount of time that he spends working for the Tribunal, based on a daily rate of £350. The appointment carries no right of pension, gratuity or allowance on its termination. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2011.
6. All appointments to the Competition Appeal Tribunal are made on merit, and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity to be made public. None of the Ordinary Members are politically active.
7. Although these appointments do not come within the remit of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA), they have been made following OCPA best practice.