Jean-Pierre Bonthoux is appointed hearing adviser of the Autorité de la concurrence

Jean-Pierre Bonthoux,  who holds a doctorate in law and is a graduate from the French National school for the Judiciary (École nationale de la magistrature), was an assistant state prosecutor at the District Court of Evry (tribunal de grande instance d'Évry) from 1989 to 1990. A judge at the Central administration of the Ministry of Justice between 1991 and 1992, he worked, among other deparments, at the Civil Affairs and Seals Directorate (Direction des affaires civiles et du sceau). Appointed technical adviser to the Secretary of State for consumption and women's rights in 1992, he then joined the Conseil de la concurrence as a case officer in 1993. Assistant public prosecutor and general secretary to the Prosecutor General's office at the Versailles Court of Appeal from 1996 to 2005, he was a legal and judicial adviser to the General director of the National Gendarmerie until 2010. A public prosecutor at the Douai Court of Appeal from 2010 to 2013, he was then appointed Assistant Chief Prosecutor at the District Court of Paris (tribunal de grande instance de Paris). Since January 2018, he has been the First Advocate General at the Paris Court of Appeal (Premier avocat général près la cour d'appel de Paris).

The hearing adviser's mission

The Hearing Adviser, a position which was created by the law on the modernisation of the economy of 4 August 2008, is a procedural mediator who is available to assist companies whose behaviours are questioned or which are the complainants, in order to prevent or defuse any problems involving the exercise of their rights throughout the inter partes proceedings related to the investigation of anticompetitive practices (more information on the role of the Hearing Adviser).