Kirjahaku

This book examines the legislative patchwork surrounding access to the European Commission’s cartel case files.Recent legislative changes have increased the value of the files and have also highlighted the inherent tension between a number of competing interests affecting their accessibility. The Commission is undoubtedly caught between a rock and a hard place, charged with the task to ensure due process, transparency and effectiveness while at the same time promoting both public and private enforcement of the EU competition rules. The author considers how best to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate, but often diverging interests of parties, third parties and national competition authorities in these cases. The book provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the EU legislation and case law surrounding access to the Commission’s cartel case files. The author examines the question of accessibility from three different perspectives: that of the parties under investigation, cartel victims, and national competition authorities. The author also considers the EU leniency system and whether any legislative changes could make the attractiveness of the system less dependent on the possibilities of cartel victims to access the evidence contained in the Commission’s case files.

This book examines the legislative patchwork surrounding access to the European Commission’s cartel case files.Recent legislative changes have increased the value of the files and have also highlighted the inherent tension between a number of competing interests affecting their accessibility. The Commission is undoubtedly caught between a rock and a hard place, charged with the task to ensure due process, transparency and effectiveness while at the same time promoting both public and private enforcement of the EU competition rules. The author considers how best to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate, but often diverging interests of parties, third parties and national competition authorities in these cases. The book provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the EU legislation and case law surrounding access to the Commission’s cartel case files. The author examines the question of accessibility from three different perspectives: that of the parties under investigation, cartel victims, and national competition authorities. The author also considers the EU leniency system and whether any legislative changes could make the attractiveness of the system less dependent on the possibilities of cartel victims to access the evidence contained in the Commission’s case files.

The 2nd edition of this book provides an updated comprehensive analysis of the European Commission’s dawn raid practices from a due process perspective. Examining the obligations imposed by the Charter and the ECHR and the response of the Luxembourg and Strasbourg Courts, the book shows that whereas the Strasbourg Court manages to strike a balance between efficiency concerns and fundamental rights, the approach of the EU Courts is not equally balanced. The dawn raid is a powerful tool on which the European Commission relies heavily in its antitrust investigations. In 2022, the Commission carried out dawn raids in private homes for the first time in many years and it has declared its intent to make greater use of the power to inspect private premises. Furthermore, the European Commission is expanding its dawn raid practices into new areas of law. Both the Digital Markets Act and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation empower the Commission to carry out dawn raids and to impose heavy fines on anyone failing to cooperate. Ensuring adequate procedural safeguards is therefore more important than ever.The book provides an essential and timely examination of this important subject, and is of great practical interest to companies, practitioners, and enforcers. It is also of theoretical interest, offering stimulating reflections on the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Commission’s enforcement powers.

The 2nd edition of this book provides an updated comprehensive analysis of the European Commission’s dawn raid practices from a due process perspective. Examining the obligations imposed by the Charter and the ECHR and the response of the Luxembourg and Strasbourg Courts, the book shows that whereas the Strasbourg Court manages to strike a balance between efficiency concerns and fundamental rights, the approach of the EU Courts is not equally balanced. The dawn raid is a powerful tool on which the European Commission relies heavily in its antitrust investigations. In 2022, the Commission carried out dawn raids in private homes for the first time in many years and it has declared its intent to make greater use of the power to inspect private premises. Furthermore, the European Commission is expanding its dawn raid practices into new areas of law. Both the Digital Markets Act and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation empower the Commission to carry out dawn raids and to impose heavy fines on anyone failing to cooperate. Ensuring adequate procedural safeguards is therefore more important than ever.The book provides an essential and timely examination of this important subject, and is of great practical interest to companies, practitioners, and enforcers. It is also of theoretical interest, offering stimulating reflections on the effectiveness and legitimacy of the Commission’s enforcement powers.