Okeoghene Odudu

The boundaries of EC competition law : the scope of Article 81

1. Introduction 2. The value of competition 3. The meaning of undertaking within Article 81 EC 4. Collusion: Agreement and concerted practice 5. The meaning and existence of restricted competition 6. Article 81(3) EC as a productive efficiency enquiry 7. Article 81 EC and non-efficiency goals 8. The boundaries of Article 81 clarified?

Indirect Information Exchange: The Constituent Elements of Hub and Spoke Collusion

One of the most interesting and challenging competition law questions of recent times has been the attempt to control the information an undertaking can receive about its competitors—not from the competing undertaking directly, but via a common trading partner. The European Commission, in its Guidelines on Vertical Restraints, identifies a concern that such indirect flows of information are being used to replicate the type of information exchanges that would be prohibited if they occurred directly, when it notes that:

The interface of EU and national tort law: competition law

This chapter aims to assess the framework enabling private parties to enforce competition law and the implications this has both in relation to the evolution of national tort law in EU Member States, and for an incipient acquis of EU tort law. It considers how the law has evolved since the CJEU in Courage v Crehan confirmed that those able to show that they have suffered loss as a result of a competition law violation are able to recover compensatory damages, and the progress made since the adoption of Directive 2014/104/EU on antitrust damages. The chapter focuses on four selected topics: the erosion of the requirement of fault; the erosion of individual responsibility; the extension of recoverable losses; and modifications to the burden of proof arising from a presumption of damage resulting from certain types of anticompetitive behaviour. It concludes by questioning whether traditional tort law doctrines at Member State level can survive under the pressure of these EU law developments. The chapter indicates areas of uncertainty that may serve to guide future research efforts.