Exchange of confidential information in private competition law enforcement (10 ans d’application du règlement 1/2003 et de la loi luxembourgeoise relative à la concurrence, Luxembourg-Kirchberg, 6 juin 2014)

This collection of articles broaches the sensitive topic regarding exchange of confidential information in private competition law enforcement. Issues deriving from this subject were tackled at the roundtable moderated by the President of the EU General Court, M. Marc Jaeger, on the occasion of the anniversary conference organized by the Luxembourg Competition Council on June 6, 2014 for the 10th year of application of Regulation 1/2003 and of the Luxembourgish Competition Act. In his paper, President Jaeger takes the topic from the angle of the national judge confronted to such exchanges and stresses the importance, first, of a better use of the cooperation mechanisms, laid down by Article 15 of Regulation 1/2003 and, second, of a close monitoring of national judicial decisions to keep competition law coherent throughout the EU, especially in the context of damages actions. The Director General for Competition of the European Commission, M. Alexander Italianer, reviews the different possibilities for a plaintiff to get access to confidential documents in order to prepare an action for damages and assesses them with regard to the ultimate aim of striking the right balance between public and private enforcement. The President of the French Competition Authority, M. Bruno Lasserre, draws up a report on the use of the instruments framing the dialogue between the national competition authority and the national judge and specifically addresses the concerns that may occur in this context as regards the access of information belonging to the national authority’s file. Finally, M. Louis Vogel, Law Professor at Assas University (Paris II) and founding partner of the lawfirm Vogel & Vogel, shows the difficulties companies encounter with the current state of the law regulating exchanges of information when involved in damages actions and envisages other solutions to better embrace all interests at stake.