Mergers in UK Law

But this clear-cut approach cannot be applied to every case, for the criterion so established may itself be so imprecise that different decision-makers, each acting rationally, might reach differing conclusions when applying it to the facts of a given case.

The first stage test, which is applied upon the application for leave, will lead to a refusal if the applicant has no interest whatsoever and is, in truth, no more than a meddlesome busybody.

Lastly, good public administration requires decisiveness and finality, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary.

It is, to my mind, self-evident that concurrent investigations in the UK and in Europe would be both oppressive and mutually destructive. I accept, therefore, that the duty of sincere cooperation does go beyond avoiding inconsistent decisions and extends to overlapping jurisdictions.

Counsel for OFT and Aer Lingus also rely on the provisions of the Enterprise Act to which I have referred. They point out that they lay down a strict timetable from initial reference to final conclusion without any power comparable to that of a court to stay proceedings at any stage if it thinks fit. There is no point short of a decision by the Competition Commission at which the process could be halted in the manner suggested by Ryanair.

Thus, at one end of the spectrum, a "low intensity" of review is applied to cases involving issues "depending essentially on political judgment" (de Smith para 13–056–7) . At the other end of the spectrum are decisions infringing fundamental rights where unreasonableness is not equated with "absurdity" or "perversity", and a "lower" threshold of unreasonableness is used:

I mention this matter because the court has an interest of its own in knowing what exactly it is expected to do on an application of the present kind. If it is asked to carry out a careful, thorough scrutiny of the benefits and dis-benefits of the proposal that will require the parties to put in extensive material to satisfy the court of those matters. It will involve the judge doing extensive pre-reading, particularly in a case where he is likely to hear from one side only.