De Beers' obligation to supply Antwerp diamond dealer is lifted by Brussels Court

Client(s) De Beers Group

Jones Day represented diamond mining company De Beers Group before the Brussels Court of Appeal in a dispute initiated in Belgium by an Antwerp diamond dealer challenging De Beers’ diamond distribution system. The Brussels Court of Appeal overturned decisions by the President of the Belgian Competition Council extending interim measures requiring De Beers to continue supplying rough diamonds to diamond dealer Spira. The Court confirmed that the President could not extend these interim measures indefinitely in the absence of an active investigation by the Belgian competition authorities on the merits of Spira's antitrust complaint against De Beers' selective distribution system. The European Commission had previously rejected a similar complaint by Spira, a decision that was upheld by the General Court of the European Union in a judgment of July 11, 2013.