The EU Court of Justice confirms that a parent company can be held liable and fined for an antitrust infringement committed by its 50/50 joint venture (EI du Pont de Nemours)

50:50 joint ventures – Possibility of parental liability for EU antitrust infringements confirmed* On 26 September 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued two important judgments (Case C-172/12 P, El du Pont de Nemours and Others v Commission and Case C-179/12 P, Dow Chemical v Commission) in which it confirms that a parent company can be held liable and fined by the European Commission for the antitrust infringements of its 50:50 joint venture in the EU. The judgments endorse the European Commission’s current hardened approach of attributing antitrust liability, wherever possible, to parent companies. This approach maximises the level of fines by enabling the European Commission to avail itself of a higher maximum fine limit based not just on the turnover of