The EC antitrust prohibitions are regularly invoked in private litigation as a shield. Private parties also play an important role in public antitrust enforcement through complaints to the competition authorities. However, in marked contrast with the situation in the US, private actions for...

The present paper analyzes the interaction between the economic review of the probition of abuses of a dominant position (Article 82 EC) on the one hand and the efforts to enhance private enforcement of competition law through private damage claims on the other hand. The paper argues that...

A substantial number of cartels in the European Union are detected and enforced by the national competition authorities (NCAs). The effectiveness of domestic enforcement has been subject to extensive review and debates, which have recently culminated and resulted in the proposal for the ECN+...

Since the introduction of a formal commitments procedure in EU antitrust policy (Article 9 of Council Regulation 1/2003), the European Commission has extensively settled cases of alleged anticompetitive practices. In this paper, we use a formal model of law enforcement (Bebchuk, 1984; Shavell, 1988)...

This paper analyses the legal measures adopted to implement Directive 2014/104/EU into Spanish law. After briefly looking at the context of private enforcement of competition law in Spain, it examines the process followed for the transposition and the issues discussed before the adoption of the...

This paper makes an original contribution to the literature on the developing area of private enforcement of EU competition law. It delivers a significant, rigorous and comprehensive analysis of the transposition across a broad selection of Member States (MS) of a major EU Directive introduced...

Private enforcement of antitrust damages critically hinges upon proof that damage was caused by an antitrust violation. Existing research narrowly focuses on the quantification of damages, but proving causation goes far beyond quantification. Strict legal requirements must be observed. To...

This paper provides an overall survey and analysis of consumer antitrust private enforcement in the European Union, United Kingdom and Norway.It provides overall statistics and empirical data, goes over precedents and pending cases in individual countries. it also discusses: (i) legislation and...

This chapter analyzes the evolution and current state of antitrust damages litigation in Portugal and Spain. Both countries share the commonality of being novice jurisdictions in dealing with these types of claims. Courts and professionals have shown to be up for the challenges raised in...

After a long preparatory process, a Directive harmonizing certain national rules on private enforcement of competition law has been adopted by the European Parliament. In this contribution it is investigated whether harmonization of these rules was desirable and whether the main objectives of...