Johan Ysewyn

More than 20 years after the adoption of the first European Commission Leniency Notice, the detection and sanctioning of cartels remains a key feature of the enforcement agenda of the European Commission (the “Commission”) and – the currently still 28 – European Union (“EU”) national competition authorities (“NCAs” or “CAs”). Leniency programmes are a crucial tool in uncovering cartels, with a large majority of cartel decisions adopted by European competition authorities based on immunity and leniency applications. But for how long?

On Friday, July 21, 2017, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) handed down its second class certification decision under the class actions regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the “Act”). It dismissed the application for two reasons. First, the proposed representative (...)

The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) has handed down its first class certification judgment in relation to the class actions regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the “Act”). The result? The hearing has been adjourned, with the proposed representative allowed to file and (...)

After a wait of nearly 15 months from the introduction of class actions in the UK for antitrust damages claims, the first class certification hearing took place before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) between December 12 and 14. Having heard argument, the CAT is considering (...)

On July 9, 2015, the EU’s top court, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), rendered its long-awaited ruling in the Innolux - LCD cartel appeal. The Innolux case is effectively the EU counterpart of the U.S. Motorola litigation in that it concerns fundamental issues of antitrust jurisdiction over (...)

On 22 June 2015 the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) issued its decision in the supermarkets cartel, fining 18 supermarkets and suppliers of personal care, hygiene and cleaning products for coordinating retail price increases between 2002 and 2007. This occurred in the context of a cartel (...)

Earlier today, the European Commission (the “EC”) announced the launch of a sector inquiry into the e-commerce sector in the European Union (“EU”). This is the first sector inquiry in the EU since 2008, and is part of the EC’s broader Digital Single Market (“DSM”) Strategy. The Directorate General (...)

This year -2014- the EU leniency programme is reaching the age of majority. The first European Commission Notice on the non-imposition or reduction of fines in cartel cases was published 18 years ago. e-Competitions chose the perfect time to review and comment on the recent developments in the (...)

In an important ruling rendered March 19, 2015 in the Bananas case, the EU’s top court definitively upheld the EU Commission’s expansive view of cartel conduct and held that no “fix” (as in agreement) is needed for the EU to conclude that cartel activities have occurred. It is no secret that the (...)

Margrethe Vestager, designate European Commissioner for competition, has won the support of the European Parliament following her confirmation hearing on 2 October 2014. Recurring topics were growth and innovation, the creation of jobs and the importance of a strong and fair application of (...)

The European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) has handed a victory to cartel damage claimants. In its 6 June Donau Chemie ruling, the CJEU held that EU Member States cannot adopt legislation that deprives plaintiffs of all rights to access evidence in a cartel file of an antitrust authority. (...)

INTRODUCTION On 14 September 2010, the Court of Justice, the highest court in the European Union (“EU”), ruled that, in the context of EU competition law investigations, legal professional privilege (“LPP”) does not cover communications between in-house lawyers and other employees at a company, (...)