European Court of Justice

Abuse of dominance, European Court of Justice, European Union, Market definition, Patent settlements, Pharmaceuticals

(Geradin Partners)/ /Leave a comment

On 27 June 2024, the EU Court of Justice (“CJEU”) issued its judgments in the Perindopril (Servier) case. The judgments follow a European Commission (“EC”) decision of 9 July 2014, and a series of General Court (“GC”) judgments of 12 December 2018 in relation to appeals against that EC decision. The case started with a…

Consumer protection, European Court of Justice, Investigations, Italy, National competition authorities (NCAs)

(University of Roma Tre) and (University of Basilicata)/ /Leave a comment

Background On September 5, the Advocate General Pikamäe is expected to deliver an opinion in the Caronte (C-511/23) and Trenitalia (C-510/23) cases. Despite the different legal bases, the cases revolve around the same question, that is whether competition law and consumer protection rules, read in the light of the effectiveness of administrative action, preclude national…

European Court of Justice, Information exchange

(Baker McKenzie)/ /1 Comment

At a glance… Despite fielding a referral question on information exchange and ‘by object’ violations which could easily have been met with a ‘slam dunk’ but anodyne judgment, the top EU Court’s analysis turns out to be a useful lesson on the anatomy of a ‘by object’ violation in relation to standalone information exchanges. It…

Cartels, Damages, Disclosure, European Court of Justice, European Union, Principle of Effectiveness

(University of Göttingen, Germany) and (University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

In recent years, the landscape of antitrust damages actions in the European Union has evolved significantly, guided by landmark rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Our recent paper provides a comprehensive overview of these developments as part of the Yearbook on Procedural Law of the Court of Justice of the…

Advocate General, Ancillary, European Court of Justice, Exemptions, Market definition, Pricing

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

On June 6, 2024, AG Collins rendered his opinion in the referral request by the Amsterdam District Court (“ADC”) regarding price parity clauses and product market definition in the context of litigation involving Booking.com (“Booking”), the online platform acting as an intermediary between end customers and hotels, also called online travel agent (OTA).   Summary…

European Court of Justice, Fines, Interest

, (White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The European Court of Justice has issued its judgment in Deutsche Telekom confirming that the European Commission must pay “a standard rate” of interest to companies that have been awarded a reduction or annulment of their antitrust fine on appeal. The European Commission must now apply this clear ruling to a number of claims for…

Damages, European Court of Justice, Limitation Period, Principle of Effectiveness, Private enforcement

(Court of Justice of the European Union)/ /Leave a comment

According to the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder, the two greatest tyrants on Earth are chance and time. The word ‘tyrant’ is derived from Ancient Greek ‘tyrannos’ to describe an ‘absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution’. Certainly, actions for damages in competition law may depend on numerous factors substantially determined by chance (e.g. questions…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, Google

(University of Groningen & Emile Noël Fellow at New York University School of Law)/ /Leave a comment

Interpreting and applying Article 102 TFEU – at least in all difficult cases that typically reach the courts – requires a combined reliance on both ‘reason’ and ‘fiat’. It requires reliance on ‘reason’, by which I mean substantive reasoning about how a case should be decided, because no case is exactly like any other, and…

Antitrust, European Court of Justice, Exemptions, Professional body

(University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

Let the waves (or the CJEU) carry you where the light cannot. On January 18, the CJEU delivered its judgment in the Lietuvos notarų rūmai case (C-128/21), where it dealt with the scope of the Wouters exception to the prohibition of cartels (see originally C-309/99). Here, the CJEU had to decide whether a decision of…

Antitrust, European Court of Justice, European Union, Professional body, Sport

(University of Oxford, Somerville College)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction On 21 December 2023 the Court changed its interpretation of EU competition law. The three judgments handed down that day asked as many questions as they answered, and it was obvious that further clarification would be required. Already in January 2024 two further rulings – Case C‑128/21 Lietuvos notarų rūmai, and others and Case…