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...

This paper concerns the relationship between public antitrust enforcement and private actions for damages, focusing in particular on the enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 EC. In the first half of the paper, I examine the respective roles of public antitrust enforcement and private actions for...

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...

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...

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 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 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...

Causation is one of the most underexplored areas in antitrust law. What must a plaintiff show to connect a defendant’s conduct with anticompetitive effects? Several tests are possible, including “but for” causation, proximate cause, sole causation, reasonable connection, and increased...

We contrast the laissez-faire regime with the regime of strict producer liability, and draw the implications for competition policy, in a setting where oligopolistic firms cannot differentiate themselves from rivals but rather are bound by a common industry reputation for product safety. We show...