Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956

The Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 68) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to enforce competition, and provide an appropriate check on restrictive combines and practices. It required that any agreement between companies that restricted trading should be placed on a public register unless granted exemption by the Secretary of State. Changes to an agreement, including its ending, were required to be notified and no agreement could be brought into force before appearing on the register.^[1]

Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 68
Territorial extent	England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	2 August 1956
Other legislation
Repealed by	Competition Act 1998
Relates to	Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act 1948 Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Act 1953
Status: Repealed

Restrictive Practices Court Act 1976
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the Restrictive Practices Court.
Citation	1976 c. 33
Dates
Royal assent	22 July 1976
Other legislation
Repealed by	Competition Act 1998
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to restrictive trade practices.
Citation	1976 c. 34
Dates
Royal assent	22 July 1976
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Agricultural and Forestry Associations Act 1962
Repealed by	Competition Act 1998
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The registrar could refer any agreements which appeared to operate against the public interest to the Restrictive Practices Court, a senior court of record in the United Kingdom.^[2] Though the court was overhauled in 1976,^[3] by the end of the century, the legislation was perceived as increasingly out of line with Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty of Rome. The court was gradually replaced by a new judicial regime under the Competition Act 1998 and Enterprise Act 2002,^[4] and was ultimately disestablished on 10 March 2013.^[5]

References

1. "Restrictive Trade Practices 1956-2000" (PDF). The National Archives. p. 4.2. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
2. Viscount Kilmuir, Lord Chancellor (26 June 1956). "Restrictive Trade Practices Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Parliament of the United Kingdom: Lords. col. 9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. Restrictive Practices Court Act 1976
4. "Competition authorities". Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
5. Competition Act 1998, s.1(a), SI284/2013