*This article is an automatic translation of the original article, provided here for your convenience. Read the original article.
In Europe, although the protection of market players is increasingly integrated into the mission of the national competition authorities and the European Commission, the role of the latter is, in reality, limited because according to the largely dominant model, competition authorities cannot civilly sanction anti-competitive behaviour.
The need for collective action in anti-competitive practices law, complementary to public action, stems from the economic fragility and asymmetry of information for victims, which make individual action largely insufficient.
Despite the large number of class action mechanisms developed around the world, only certain procedural tools have been successful in mass litigation and, in particular, in competition litigation. Beyond the models studied and the technical solutions proposed, the success of class actions depends on the approach of the judge and on taking into account the full complexity of competition litigation. This requires an adjustment of the rules of civil liability, better access to evidence and a good articulation between collective action and the action of the competition authority.
Finally, it is imperative to take the measure of the inevitable impact of the phenomenon of economic globalisation, since violations affect markets that are now globalised. The European dimension of many anti-competitive practices invites us, in particular, to reflect on pan-European solutions.
This book has been edited in the collection under the scientific direction of Professor Laurence Idot.