Procedural autonomy

Institution Definition

The principle of national procedural autonomy was introduced by the European Court of Justice in its Rewe case in 1976, in which the Court held that : "In the absence of Community rules on this subject, it is for the domestic legal system of each Member State to designate the courts having jurisdiction and to determine the procedural conditions governing actions at law intended to ensure the protection of the right which citizens have from the direct effect of Community law, it being understood that such conditions cannot be less favorable than those relating to similar actions of a domestic nature." © European Court of Justice

See Rights of defence

Articles

Wouter Wils Independence of competition authorities: The example of the EU and its Member States

September 2019

At the end of 2018, the European Parliament and Council adopted Directive (EU) 2019/1, often referred to as the “ECN+ Directive,” which, among other things, contains provisions ensuring the independence of the competition authorities of the EU Member States (national competition authorities or (...)

Stephen T. Cheng The DOJ’s guidance on evaluation of corporate compliance programs

September 2019

On April 30, 2019, the US Department of Justice released a new guidance on the evaluation of corporate compliance programs. The guidance is centered around three key questions: (1) Is the Compliance Program well designed?; (2) Is the Compliance Program effectively implemented?; and (3) Does the (...)

Eric Barbier de la Serre, José María Marín-Quemada, Laurence Idot Competition authorities: Towards more independence and prioritisation? (New Frontiers of Antitrust - Paris, 26 June 2017)

November 2017

Independence and transparency go hand by hand and are of the utmost importance for competition authorities. Transparency is a safeguard for independence. Competition authorities must be independent by definition regarding both the public and the private sector. Total independence should be (...)

Vinicius Marques de Carvalho Brazil: Competition policy five years later - Still in search of better practices?

September 2017

The article proposes the adoption of a "better practices" framework for evaluating public policies and institutions, with a focus on the implementation of competition policy. After identifying central variables directed at that purpose, I turn to the Brazilian case. Brazil invested in a method (...)

Denis Fosselard, Giulia Carnazza The review of Regulation 1/2003: Any lessons to be learnt from the NCAs’ procedural rules?

February 2017

Several contributions lodged within the framework of the public consultation on a possible review of Regulation 1/2003 have claimed, sometimes vigorously, that the European Commission should seek to reform Regulation 1/2003 in a manner that does not only focus on strengthening the powers of the (...)

Nathalie Jalabert-Doury Update on competition investigations in European Union and France (January – September 2016)

February 2017

This article provides an update on the rules applying to antitrust investigations carried out by DG COMP and the French competition authorities. The new rules, case law and agencies’ initiatives in that field over the past nine months are covered. At the EU level, the article provides comments (...)

Rafael P. Amaro Uncertain future of the loyalty principle in the appraisal of evidence in anti‐competitive practices trials

February 2017

In a judgment of the 7th of January 2011, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) adopted a broad approach of the loyalty principle when applied to the administration of evidence in anti‐competitive practices trials before the French National Competition Authority (Autorité de la (...)

Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi, Ashley E. Bass, Florian Bien, Florian Wagner-von Papp, Luis Loras, Miguel Angel Malo, Paul Hitchings, Peter D. Camesasca, Rafael P. Amaro, Silvia Pietrini Implementation of EU Directive 2014/104 on actions for damages for infringements of competition law

May 2015

The directive on actions for damages for infringements of the competition law has been published on 26 november 2014. This On Topic aims to show the principal issues that arise from the expected implementation of the directive on national laws. Presentation ---- Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi (...)

Emmanuelle Claudel The late principle of procedural autonomy?

January 2015

Ensuring the consistency of procedural rules in competition law is presented as the major task for the coming years. The heterogeneity of national rules allowed by the principle of procedural autonomy is denounced as a source of disharmony. The principle of procedural autonomy, which is (...)

Eric Barbier de la Serre, Guy Canivet, Henk Don, Laurence Idot, Siún O’Keeffe TR II - Procedural autonomy: Is it time for convergence in Europe? (New Frontiers of Antitrust Conference - Paris, February 10th 2012)

May 2012

This second roundtable of the conference “New frontiers of Antitrust”, Paris, 10 February 2012, was dedicated to procedural autonomy with regards to competition law enforcement. After a short introduction by Guy Canivet, member of the French Constitutional Council, Éric Barbier de la Serre, (...)

Kent Bernard Making victims whole: A restitution approach to cartel damages

February 2012

The ongoing debate about whether and how the EU should adopt a community wide system to compensate victims of illegal cartel activity has generated loud arguments over the past years. There is a respectable argument that in the time since this debate formally began in 2005, market forces (...)

Catherine Prieto Sanctions Guidelines: Ins and outs of the French Competition Authority method

September 2011

The adoption of sanctions Guidelines by the French Competition Authority on 16 May 2011 marks the renewal of the how soft law is viewed in France. The sanctions Guidelines are also an opportunity to better assess the exact scope of the principle of procedural autonomy, which must be enlightened (...)

Alain Ronzano, Christelle Adjémian, Umberto Berkani Competition journals: Jan. - March 2011

May 2011

1. General - Scope of application Portrait of the Authority as a young girl: the Competition Authority resulting from the LME Act, between success and a new start, T. DAHAN and C. LEMAIRE (RJEP, n° 683, Feb. 2011, p. 3) Who’s afraid of the control room? C. NOURISSAT (RLDA, Feb. 2011, 57, (...)

Francesco Martucci Enforcement of EU State Aid Law at National Level: Reports from the 27 Members States

May 2011

This book corresponds to the study commissioned by the European Commission from Hogan Lovells on the application of State aid law in the Member States. In 2005, the European Commission concluded a research contract with the law firm Lovells - now Hogan Lovells - on the implementation of state (...)

Antoine Winckler, Bo Vesterdorf, Douglas Miller, John M. Connor, Laurence Idot, Wouter Wils Sanctions: Is more always better? (New Frontiers of Antitrust Conference - Paris, 15th February 2010 - Panel III)

May 2010

Sanctions: Is more always better? Introduction Laurence IDOT Professeur à l’Université Paris II-Panthéon Assas Présidente du comité scientifique de Concurrences 1. Après les enquêtes et le rôle de l’économie comportementale dans l’appréciation des comportements, voici venu le temps des sanctions, thème (...)

Thomas von Danwitz Protection of fundamental rights in the context of decentralised implementation of EC competition law

December 2008

In connection with the protection of fundamental rights within the context of the decentralised implementation of Community competition law, problems arise with regard to a system of double subjection to the fundamental rights of the Commission, on the one hand, and to those of national (...)

Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi Civil Procedure Used for Enforcement of EC Competition Law by the English, French and German Civil Courts

September 2008

The book by George Cumming, Brad Spitz and Ruth Janal offers an interesting study of the English, French and German laws relating to civil actions under EC competition law. The analysis is rigorous and richly documented; it opportunely complements the reflection carried out by the European (...)

Laurence Idot The investigation powers of National Competition Authorities

February 2008

The “procedural autonomy principle” leads to the application of national laws to Investigation powers of National Competition Authorities. The purpose of the article is to examine the consequences of the entry into force of the Regulation 1/2003. In the vertical relation (EU law/national law), it (...)

Laetitia Driguez Le nouveau règlement d’application du droit communautaire de la concurrence
C. NOURISSAT - R. WTTERWULGHE (dir.)

February 2005

The choice of the theme chosen by the organisers of the symposium held on 4 March 2004, at the Jean-Moulin University (Lyon 3), which gives its name to the work presented, is neither daring nor uninteresting. First of all, it is audacious to deal with the jurisdictional implications of (...)

A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V

A

Absolute territorial protection • Abuse of dominant position • Abuse of economic dependence • Access to essential facility • Access to information • Access to the file • Agency agreement • Agent • Agreement (notion) • Amicus curiae • Ancillary restraints • Annulment • Anticompetitive objet or effect • Anticompetitive practices • Applicable law • Arbitration

B

Barriers to entry • Bid rigging • Black cause • Block exemption (Regulation) • Boycott • Brand competition • Burden of proof • Business secrets • Buyer power

C

Cartel • Clearance phase I (merger) • Clearance phase II (merger) • Collecting society • Collective dominance • Collective redress (class action) • Comity • Competence • Competition policy • Competition policy • Complaint • Compliance programme • Compulsory license • Concerted practices • Concession • Concurrent jurisdiction • Consumers protection • Consumers’ associations • Control (change) • Control (notion) • Cooperation Agreement • Cooperation between competition authorities • Coordinated effects • Copyright • Corporate group • Corruption • Cost-based access • Criminal sanctions • Cross subsidisation

D

Damages • Dawn raids • De minimis notice • Direct effect • Discriminatory practices • Distribution agreement • Dominance (notion)

E

ECHR • Economic analysis • Economic efficiency • Economies of scale • Effect on trade between Member States • Effective judicial protection • Environmental protection • Essential facility • European Competition Network (ECN) • Excess prices • Exchanges of information • Exclusive distribution • Exclusive purchasing • Exclusive right (Art. 106 TFEU) • Exclusivity clause • Exhaustion • Extra-territoriality

F

Failing firm defence • Fidelity rebates • Fine • Fine mitigating • Foreign direct investment (FDI) • Franchising • FRAND

G

Geographic market • Group purchasing organization • Gun jumping

H

Hard core restrictions • Horizontal agreement

I

Individual exemption • Intellectual property right • Interim measures • International competition network (ICN) • Investigations / inquiries

J

Joint control • Joint venture • Judicial review

L

Legal privilege • Leniency • Licensing • Limitation period • Low prices

M

Mandatary (distribution) • Margin squeeze • Market economy investor • Market power • Market share • Media pluralism • Merger (notion) • Merger (prohibition) • Merger (withdrawal) • Minority shareholdings • Misinformation • Misinformation

N

Ne bis in idem • Network effect • Non-competition clause • Notification • Nullity

O

Oligopoly

R

Referral (merger) • Refusal to deal • Regulated prices • Relevant market • Remedies (antitrust) • Request for information • Resale price maintenance (RPM) • Resale-below-cost • Right against self-incrimination • Rights of defence • Rule of reason

S

Sector inquiry • Selective distribution • Services of general economic interest • Single branding • Sole control • Spill-over effects • Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) • State action defense • State aid (compatibility) • State aid (existing aid) • State aid (notification) • State aid (notion) • State aid (recovery) • State aid (tax ruling) • State aid (unlawful aid) • State measure • Sudden break of established business relationships

T

Test SIEC (merger) • Test SLC (merger) • Transfer of technology • Transfer pricing • Trustee (mergers) • Turnover threshold (merger) • Two-sided market • Tying or tied selling

U

Undertaking (notion) • Unfair competition • Universal service • Upstream market

V

Vertical agreement • Vertical restraints (or restrictions)