The Committee of Experts (Legal Section) of the Spanish Association of Franchisors (AEF from the Spanish) was created at the end of 2004 with the support of that established in the AEF Statutes. Its experts are personally designated and non-delegable lawyers from among the most distinguished in the legal profession, due to their knowledge and experience in the field of franchising.
In recent years, the Committee has made significant contributions both to the clarification of the legal panorama which regulates franchising and to the promotion of the franchising system as a method for business expansion.
With regards to the former, it is worth citing the writing of declarations in the Project for the Defence of Competition Act. These gave rise to the inclusion of the regulation of "Agreements of lesser importance" which are contained in Art. 5 of Law 15/2007 of the 3rd of July for the Defence of Competition and in Art. 1 and those that follow of Royal Decree 261/2008 of the 22nd of February approving the Regulation of the Defence of Competition..
The Committee has issued official opinions and has held various meetings with the Ministry of Economics with regards to the proposition for the Commercial Distribution Contracts Act and regarding the proposed modification of the Retail Trade Regulation Act.
Similarly, the Committee actively collaborated with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in the drafting of Royal Decree 210/2010 of the 26th of February,which regulates the exercise of commercial activity under franchise and the communication of data to the register of franchisors.
Commission Regulation 2790/99 of the 22nd of December 1999 regarding the application of Section 3 of Article 81 of the EC Treaty for "Certain categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices" expired on the 31st of May 2010, although formally there was a transitory regime for its application in certain matters, in force up to the 31st of May 2011.
And this was because EU regulation 330/2010 of the Commission of the 20th of April 2010 regarding the application of article 101, section 3 of the EC Treaty regarding certain categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices, was published and came into force on the 1st of June 2010. The Committee actively works on its monitoring and promotion.
In terms of providing information, experts can be found at the AEF stands in the Madrid and Valencia Fairs, giving the current or potential franchisors who attend these fairs free legal advice and informational services about franchising.
Similarly, Committee experts are authors of various books and articles and they actively participate in numerous debate forums related to franchising. Examples of the latter are the National Congress of Distribution (organised by Rey Juan Carlos University) and the Congress of Franchisors (organised by the AEF).