Private Losses in European Competition Law : Public or Private Enforcement?

The author discusses three aspects of the compensation of private losses in European Competition law. First of all pros and cons of public and private enforcement are dealt with. The author argues for private claims as an indispensable element of competition law enforcement, including representative claims of non-profit consumer and trade organizations. State bodies should not bring suits on behalf of consumers, and neither public nor private skimming off of the benefits is deemed useful. Secondly it is asked whether the time has already come that the EU should create new rules to harmonize private claims. The author suggests a time period of at last five years during which the competition law systems of the member states should be developed according to the requirements of the Courage and Manfredi judgments. At last the Oxera report is assessed as a step into the right direction because, falling short of a detailed analysis of the legal background, it leaves room to develop rules bottom up