“In Defence of the Rights of Defence”: Competition law procedure and the changing role of the Hearing officer

“One of the functions of procedure is to limit power - not just the power to be unfair, but the power to act in a political mode, or the power to act at all. [...] The indissoluble link between procedure and power ... must determine when and how procedures are made.”, Antonin Scalia I. Introduction 1. “The system by which EC competition decisions are adopted by the Commission is unique, extraordinary, and inadequate” - this characterization of the competition procedure by a leading competition lawyer expresses a not uncommon perception of the procedure in competition cases treated before the European Commission. As is the case for every administration under the magnifying lens of interested views, procedure is focused upon in so far as it often determines outcomes - almost equivalent to