A company notified by the Competition Authority that an examination has been opened. A corporation classified as a "concentration entity" that discovers structural restrictions are about to change how it operates. A trade association facing a regulatory decision that threatens the operating conditions of all its members. A business for which a petition against a regulatory decision is the only route back into the market. In each case, the outcome depends not only on knowledge of competition law, but also on the ability to engage effectively with the regulator, understand its framework and use the appropriate administrative-law tools.
Ilan Bombach & Co. acts in matters involving competition, market concentration and economic regulation, drawing on one of the firm's principal strengths: the intersection of administrative and public law with the commercial arena. The firm represents businesses, corporations, professional associations, non-profits, local authorities and public bodies in proceedings where a regulatory decision or interpretation may define the client's freedom to operate in the market.
Among other matters, the firm represented the Association of Chinese Companies in Israel in a precedent-setting proceeding before the Supreme Court on whether state-owned Chinese corporations can be treated as a "concentration entity" under the Concentration Law. The Supreme Court adopted the firm's position that the mechanism for reducing concentration applies to corporations and individuals, not to foreign states acting as sovereigns, and that Chinese authorities and corporations cannot be grouped into a single holding group for the purposes of regulatory assessment. That case shaped the boundaries of the law's application in Israel and remains the governing authority on the question.
Three decades at the forefront of public law
The firm is led by Ilan Bombach, one of Israel's leading litigators, with more than 30 years in practice and many hundreds of appearances before the Supreme Court. He has represented the Government of Israel and Knesset committees in major constitutional and administrative proceedings before the Court.
The firm represents the Prime Minister, government ministers, senior public figures, local authorities, public bodies, non-profits and international corporations in complex public, administrative and regulatory proceedings. In competition and concentration matters, this familiarity with the public arena, the operation of regulatory authorities and the intersection between economic regulation and administrative law is particularly valuable.
Many proceedings in this field are not matters of "pure" competition law, but regulatory decisions that must be challenged, defended or shaped. Success then depends on deploying the instruments of administrative law as well: excess of authority, unreasonableness, denial of the right to be heard, extraneous considerations, and disproportionate harm to freedom of occupation or to the reliance interest.
Personal involvement of the head of the firm
A single decision in this field can have far-reaching effects: a regulatory determination about a body's standing in the market, restrictions on commercial activity, an interpretation with structural consequences, or a petition affecting many players beyond the immediate parties. The firm therefore provides close personal involvement of its head at every substantive stage.
We support clients from preliminary advice and assessment of regulatory risk, through approaches to authorities, hearings, objections and appeals, to administrative petitions and proceedings before the Supreme Court where appropriate. In many cases it is how the matter is handled from the outset that determines whether commercial harm can be limited and the client's freedom to operate preserved.
Principal areas of practice
- Petitions against regulatory decisions in competition matters: administrative petitions and petitions to the High Court of Justice against decisions of the Competition Authority and other economic regulators, including claims of excess of authority, unreasonableness, denial of the right to be heard and extraneous considerations.
- Concentration law and classification of entities: proceedings concerning the application of the Concentration Law, classification as a concentration entity, holding structures, and the structural consequences of regulatory decisions.
- Proceedings before the Competition Authority: representation in submissions to the Authority, hearings and objections, including at the early stages when the regulatory outcome may still be shaped.
- Representation of associations and professional bodies: associations, professional organisations and sector non-profits in disputes where a regulatory decision affects all members rather than a single player.
- Sector regulation and competition in supervised industries: the points of intersection between sector regulation — telecommunications, energy, health, finance, agriculture — and competition law.
- Dealings with local authorities and public bodies: situations where decisions of local authorities, municipal companies or public bodies raise questions of competition, market access or discrimination between players.
- Representation before and during regulatory reviews: legal support for entities subject to, or anticipating, regulatory scrutiny, including preparation, communications with the authority and strategy.
