The protection of competition is the most important regulatory task in a market economy. In Switzerland, this task is primarily performed using the instruments provided by the Act on Cartels. The application of the Act is the duty of the Competition Commission and its Secretariat. The Competition Commission is an independent federal authority. The tasks of the Competition Commission are combating harmful cartels, monitoring dominant companies for signs of anti-competitive conduct, enforcing merger control legislation and preventing the imposition of restraints of competition by the state.