Demo memorial including cover page, statement of jurisdiction, statement of facts and issues raised PDF

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Demo memorial including cover page, statement of jurisdiction, statement of facts and issues raised...

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7th AURO National Moot Court Competition, 2021

IN THE HONOURABLE FORTUNA ANTITRUST APPELLANT TRIBUNAL

APPELLANT JURISDICTION

In the matter of Original Suit No. of 2021

INDUSTRIAL CREDIT CORPORATION BANK AND ORS. V. FORTUNA ANTITRUST COMMISSION AND ORS.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

INDEX THE TABLE OF CONTENTS THE INDEX OF AUTHORITIES THE STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION THE SUMMARY OF FACTS THE ISSUES RAISED THE SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS THE ARGUMENTS ADVANCED  Whether the FAAT Has the Jurisdiction to Consolidate the Antitrust Proceedings?  WHETHER THE FAC HAS THE JURISDICTION TO REGULATE AND

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CONSEQUENTLY ADJUDICATE ON CONSUMER PERSONAL AND NON 

PERSONAL DATA? Whether the basic characteristics of the blockchain are anti-competitive in nature? Whether the ICC bank, ICP bank and the ICD bank can be treated as a single

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economic unit? Whether the ICC bank and its subsidiaries are in contravention of sections 3 and

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4 of the Fortuna Antitrust Act, 2002? THE PRAYER

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STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

It is most respectfully submitted that the Group Entity which includes the three banks, namely ICC Bank, ICP Bank and ICD Bank ( herein referred to as the appellant) have appealed the respective Suit invoking the Jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Tribunal under Article 323A of the Constitution of Fortuna which confers upon this Tribunal the Original Jurisdiction to adjudicate any dispute of law or fact on which the existence or extent of a legal right between the Parties. However, the (herein referred to as the Defendant) reserves the right to contest the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Federal Court and the maintainability of the suit in the present factual scenario

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THE SUMMARY OF FACTS

1. The Republic of Fortuna is a developing economy that was established in the year 2000. Prior to 1947, when the country gained independence from colonialism in the midtwentieth century, which had previously been an agrarian economy.

2. Incorporated by Shah Group, Industrial Credit Corporation Bank (“ICC Bank”) was set up to perform the duties of a commercial bank in Capitol City in 2005 under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and quickly became a market leader in the banking sector

3. To cope with circumstances and after obtaining license for operations from the Central Bank of Fortuna, the ICC established ICP Bank as an online payment platform in 2014 with 65% shareholding thereby giving ICP Bank first mover advantage as the client count shot up.

4. The privacy policy of the ICP Bank clarifies that it will have access to customer activities, telecommunication contacts and social media footprint and that all relevant banking information of the customer may be shared with the group entities in a psedonymized and non-anonymised manner to authenticate their identity.

5. Commercial banks that are registered with the Central Bank may join the ICP Bank to use their digital wallet services, which are powered by block-chain technologies and delivered through Near-Field Communications (NFC) and QR codes but despite this, the ICP Bank failed to become the market leader which happened to be (Rural Credit) RC Bank

6. To extend its fintech operations, the ICC Bank registered another affiliate, the Industrial Credit Digital Bank (“ICD Bank”), in 2019. The ICD Bank offers digital-only financial services, including microcredit, to people that other banks have refused to serve. ICD Bank assessed creditworthiness of their customers based on data obtained from ICP 4

Bank, such as transaction history and so on in order to satisfy technical and legal criteria.

7. Reuters Group Ltd, a leading institution in most sectors ventured into the banking sector with Reuters Bank and gained a significant market share in no time. To further enhance their services, they applied at the ICP Bank for digital wallet services, however despite frequent meetings and numerous letters, their application was left ignored which further caused a decrease in share price and the Reuters Bank filed an official complaint in the FAC (Fortuna Antitrust Commission) against the ICP Bank for allegedly violating Sections 3 and 4 of the Fortuna Antitrust Act, 2002.

8. Meanwhile, the ICD Bank grew to become the industry leader with a 66% market share and began delivering unique financial products and services focused on its research and development vertical which resulted in RC Bank being aggrieved and filing a complaint to the “AHFBC” for indulging in anti-trust activities. AHFBC further filed a petition before the FAC for holding the ICC Bank liable for abuse of dominance.

9. The FAC found that the group entity was acting as a single economic entity and misused the consumer’s personal and non-personal data, violating the Fortuna Antitrust Act, 2002. The group entity appealed against this order stating that FAC doesn’t have the jurisdiction to regulate upon the issue of personal and non-personal consumer data and that there was no abuse of the Fortuna Antitrust Act, 2002, since the entities operate in unique markets, and none of the entities are dominant in their markets.

10. The FAC rejected the Reuters Bank's lawsuit, citing the Director General Report as evidence that the ICP Bank did not have a leading role in the related sector and that there was no evidence of an anti-competitive arrangement.

11. The Reuters Bank, aggrieved by the decision, lodged an appeal with the FAAT, citing the ICC Bank as a respondent. In the interests of the parties concerned, the FAAT combined the appeal hearings so that they could be heard together on April 2, 2021.

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THE ISSUES RAISED

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Whether the FAAT has the jurisdiction to consolidate the antitrust proceedings?

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Whether the FAC has the jurisdiction to regulate and consequently adjudicate on consumer personal and non-personal data?

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Whether the basic characteristics of the blockchain are anti-competitive in nature?

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Whether the ICC Bank, ICP Bank and the ICD Bank can be treated as a single economic unit?

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Whether the ICC Bank and its subsidiaries are in contravention of Sections 3 and 4 of the Fortuna Antitrust Act, 2002?

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