European Court of Justice

Abuse of dominance, Discrimination, European Court of Justice, National competition authorities (NCAs), National court, References for a preliminary ruling, Regulation

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Jurisdiction after DB Station At the end of last year, the ECJ rendered a much-anticipated ruling in the DB Station case (C-721/10), which fundamentally clarified the hierarchy between regulators and civil courts in abuse of dominance cases relating to regulated infrastructure sectors. After lengthy national proceedings, the ECJ decided that national civil courts can only…

Abuse of dominance, As Efficient Competitor, Economics, European Court of Justice, European Union, Exclusive dealing, Italy, National competition authorities (NCAs), National court, References for a preliminary ruling

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On 19 January 2023, the EU Court of Justice, answering questions from the Italian Council of State, confirmed that the Intel effects-based approach applies also to exclusive dealing practices and held that competition authorities must duly examine economic evidence produced by dominant undertakings. The court also held that, under certain narrow circumstances, conduct implemented by…

Abuse of dominance, European Court of Justice, European Union

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On 12 January 2023, the EU Court of Justice upheld the EU General Court’s judgment imposing a fine on Lithuanian Railways for dismantling a section of the railway track. While reaffirming its essential facility case law (Bronner), the Court confirmed that the Bronner case law did not apply to the deliberate destruction of State-owned infrastructure…

Damages, Disclosure, European Court of Justice, Evidence, National court, Private enforcement, Proportionality

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On 10 November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or the Court) delivered its judgment in another private enforcement case, interpreting Art. 5 of Directive 2014/104/EU (the Damages Directive or the Directive). It answered the preliminary question raised by a Spanish First Instance Commercial Court that the disclosure of information or documents which do…

Competition enforcement, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Enforcement, European Court of Justice, Facebook, Germany, Privacy, Tying and Bundling

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The wheels of the German competition authority’s enforcement of its dedicated rules on digital markets have started to turn (on the technical and substantive aspects of Section 19a GWB, see previous posts here and here). According to the recently introduced rules, the Bundeskartellamt first formally determines that an undertaking is of paramount significance for competition…

Dutch clause, European Commission, European Court of Justice, Gun jumping, Innovation, International Law Talk, Merger control, Pharmaceuticals, Podcast

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In the last edition of the International Law Talk Podcast, I had the pleasure to interview Jay Modrall on the Illumina/Grail saga. Jay talks us through the whole case with all its interesting aspects: external and internal dimensions, article 22 referrals, gun-jumping, phase II, court proceedings, substantive issues with competition innovation and much more. Listen…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, Four-to-three Merger, General Court of the European Union, Guidelines, Horizontal, Judicial review, Merger control, Merger notification, Merger Thresholds

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Advocate General Kokott has found [1] that the General Court erred in law in requiring the European Commission to show anti-competitive effects of a merger with “strong probability” and that the scope of its judicial review was overly broad, notably in relation to economic evidence.   Key takeaways This case will give the Court of…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, European Union, Merger control, Merger Thresholds, Mergers

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Advocate General Juliane Kokott has proposed that the EU Court of Justice should find that competition authorities have the power to apply Article 102 TFEU to corporate transactions that are not reportable and test under that provision whether the transaction as such constitutes an abuse of a dominant position. However, a competition authority cannot in…

Damages, European Court of Justice, Jurisdiction, Liability, Parental liability

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In the MOL (C-425/22) case, the Hungarian court requests a preliminary ruling on whether the concept of an economic unit can be applied on the applicant’s side. This would allow to establish the forum of jurisdiction at the registered office of the parent company in the sense of Article 7(2) of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 (Brussels…

Abuse of dominance, Advocate General, European Court of Justice, Facebook, Privacy

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On 20 September 2022, Advocate General Rantos delivers his Opinion on the much-awaited Case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms v. Bundeskartellamt). Bearing in mind the Opinion intends to pave the way for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the interpretation of the GDPR, the text resonates with competition law and its interpretation in the display online…