ERDEM-NEWSLETTER-2018-metin

76 NEWSLETTER 2018 Moreover, the Communique regulates two subjects. Firstly, the procedures and principles related to the use of the right to access files. Secondly, the determination of the trade secrets within the informa- tion discovered during the application of the Competition Act, and the procedures and principles related to the protection of information and documents classified as trade secrets. Right of Access to Files According to the Communique, the parties may use their rights only once, if no new evidence is discovered during the investigation. The use of the right to access files comes with two exceptions: The Authority’s internal correspondence, and the trade secrets and con- fidential information related to the other undertakings. Accordingly, the parties may have access to all kinds of evidence discovered and documents prepared concerning them within the Authority, except the Authority’s internal correspondence and information and documents, including trade secrets and confidential information related to other undertakings, the association of undertakings and persons. The Authority’s internal correspondence is defined as the cor- respondence between the units that fall under the actions to prepare for the Board decisions. Moreover, the Authority’s internal correspon- dence is not entirely excluded from the scope of this right. Accordingly, the parties may examine the Authority’s internal correspondence that has the quality of justifying or accusing evidence, and the documents submitted in the scope of the Regulation on Active Cooperation for Detecting Cartels (Active Cooperation/Leniency Regulation) (“Leni- ency Regulation”) at the Authority’s head office. Once the parties petition their requests to the Authority, the in- vestigation committee evaluates the party’s’ requests to access files. If the committee decides that the request is not entirely, or partly ap- propriate, the Board will render a decision on the relevant request. The Board notifies the requesting parties of its reasoned decision. TheAuthority may apply different procedures while allowing par- ties access to the files. By considering the parties’ relevant requests, the Authority may allow the parties to copy the files via photocopy,