Both anti-corruption law and anti-trust law aim to create a level playing field and they are complementary to each other in support of this aim. Given the indispensable nature of both fields in terms of reaching social welfare, it is striking how differently society reacts to the breaching...

This paper analyses the state of private enforcement of EU competition law in Germany after the implementation of the Competition Damages Directive 2014/104/EU. The Damages Directive provides full harmonisation, but only of select issues. In view of this fragmented legal framework, the “law in...

The ministerial proposal for a 10th amendment of the German competition law particularly addresses abuse control and seeks to tighten this pillar of competition policy against the background of the challenges from the digital economy. Next to extending the classic policy instruments of abuse...

Private enforcement of competition law in Germany and the Netherlands is booming. A surge in cartel damages actions has led to a flurry of judicial activity, while claim vehicles and claim funders continue to bring and fund new cases. At the same time, both jurisdictions also face significant...

Nowadays, merger control predominantly relies upon a strict analysis of the effects from merger and acquisitions on effective competition. However, there is scope for so-called public interest considerations in several European merger control regimes and recently a number of European politicians...

In 2008, the European Commission investigated E.ON, a large and vertically integrated electricity company, for the alleged abuse of a joint dominant position by strategically withholding generation capacity. The case was settled after E.ON agreed to divest 5,000 MW generation capacity as well as...

In 2008, the European Commission investigated E.ON, a large and vertically integrated electricity company, for the alleged abuse of a joint dominant position by strategically withholding generation capacity. The case was settled after E.ON agreed to divest 5,000 MW generation capacity as well as...

For over a decade, the substantive rules of European competition law have been subject to a reinterpretation commonly referred to as the ‘more economic approach’. This article considers one of the procedural consequences resulting from this fundamental change: Since the EU courts...

In a tort law regime established on the basis of corrective justice considerations, causation requirements will tend to play a predominant role in regulating the damages claims brought forward. The requirement of the causal link between the harm suffered and the anticompetitive conduct in...