Facts
Seven companies from the electricity sector have agreed to create a central Swiss grid operator, Swissgrid AG. The Competition Commission approved the merger subject to conditions in order to mitigate the impairment of competition. The companies appealed against these conditions to the Appeals Commission for Competition Matters. In the context of this appeal procedure, they requested to be allowed to provisionally implement the Swissgrid merger project while complying with the conditions as amended according to their appeal applications. However, the President of the Appeals Commission rejected this request for interim measures. The seven companies filed an administrative appeal against this interim decision to the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court holds that the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act are decisive for the ordering of interim measures in appeal proceedings. Accordingly, the ordering of interim measures requires urgency, a disadvantage for the parties concerned that is not easily remedied, and a balancing of interests that tips the scales in favor of interim legal protection.
The Federal Supreme Court concludes that the lower instance did not exceed or abuse its discretion in rejecting the interim measures. At the…