Facts
Nikon AG was sanctioned by the Competition Commission (COMCO) with a sanction order dated 28 November 2011 due to unlawful competition agreements pursuant to Art. 5 para. 4 in conjunction with para. 1 of the Cartel Act (CartA). Nikon filed a complaint against this order with the Federal Administrative Court. Subsequently, COMCO invited Nikon to identify passages that it considered to contain trade secrets in order to publish the order. Nikon requested the publication of a redacted version of the order. COMCO then issued an order determining which passages identified by Nikon constituted trade secrets and were therefore to be redacted. Nikon filed a complaint against this order with the Federal Administrative Court, which partially upheld the complaint. Finally, the case reached the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed Nikon AG's complaint. It stated that the publication of COMCO orders pursuant to Art. 48 para. 1 CartA serves several purposes: Firstly, it serves prevention and legal certainty, as companies can align their conduct with the practice of the competition authorities. Secondly, it serves the transparency of administrative activities and administrative control. Thirdly, other authorities are to be informed about COMCO's practice. The Federal Supreme Court held that the CartA deviates from the general principle of…