Competition Act 1998

3 (1) The Chapter I prohibition does not apply to an agreement for the constitution of an EEA regulated market to the extent to which the agreement relates to any of the rules made, or guidance issued, by that market.

(2) The Chapter I prohibition does not apply to a decision made by an EEA regulated market, to the extent to which the decision relates to any of the market’s regulating provisions.

(3) The Chapter I prohibition does not apply to—

(a) any practices of an EEA regulated market; or

(b) any practices which are trading practices in relation to an EEA regulated market.

(4) The Chapter I prohibition does not apply to an agreement the parties to which are or include—

(a) an EEA regulated market, or

(b) a person who is subject to the rules of that market,

to the extent to which the agreement consists of provisions the inclusion of which is required or contemplated by the regulating provisions of that market.

(5) In this paragraph—

• “EEA regulated market” is a market which—

  (a)

  is listed by an EEA State other than the United Kingdom pursuant to article 16 of Council Directive No. 93/22/EEC of 10th May 1993 on investment services in the securities field; and

  (b)

  operates without any requirement that a person dealing on the market should have a physical presence in the EEA State from which any trading facilities are provided or on any trading floor that the market may have;

• “EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;

• “regulating provisions”, in relation to an EEA regulated market, means—

  (a)

  rules made, or guidance issued, by that market,

  (b)

  practices of that market, or

  (c)

  practices which, in relation to that market, are trading practices;

• “trading practices”, in relation to an EEA regulated market, means practices of persons who are subject to the rules made by that market, and—

  (a)

  which relate to business in respect of which those persons are subject to the rules of that market, and which are required or contemplated by those rules or by guidance issued by that market; or

  (b)

  which are otherwise attributable to the conduct of that market as such.