All EU Member States have now transposed Directive 2014/104/EU on damages actions for breaches of competition law into national law. The Directive (and the soft-law instruments accompanying it) not only marks a new phase for private enforcement of competition law but also, more generally, provides a novel and thought provoking instance of EU harmonisation of aspects of private law and civil litigation.



Following up on a previous volume in the Swedish Studies in European Law series, published in 2016, this book offers contributions from top practitioners and scholars from all over Europe, who present and discuss first experiences from the implementation of the new damages regime in various jurisdictions.



Topics covered include theoretical and practical reflections on the state of private enforcement in Europe, the balancing of conflicting interests pertaining to public and private enforcement of competition law respectively, and specific legal issues such as causation and the estimation of harm. The authors explore problems solved, problems created, and future challenges in the new regime of private enforcement of competition law in Europe, offering predictions as to issues that may have to be settled through recourse to the European Court of Justice.

Table Of Contents

PART I

ROLLING OUT THE NEW PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT REGIME

1. EU Competences and the Damages Directive: The Continuum Between Minimum and Full Harmonisation Max Hjärtström and Julian Nowag

2. The State of Private Enforcement of Competition Law: A Practitioner's Perspective 

Ulrich Classen and Martin Seegers

3. Managing Transposition and Avoiding Fragmentation: The Example of Limitation Periods and Interest 

Magnus Strand

4. A First Look at the Portuguese Act 23/2018 Transposing the Private Enforcement Directive 

Sofia Oliveira Pais



PART II

BALANCING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT

5. Private Enforcement of Public Law – An Inconsistent Approach to Remedies? 

Lars Henriksson

6. The Binding Effects of Decisions and Judgments under EU Competition Law 

Torbjörn Andersson

7. Facilitating Follow-on Actions? Public and Private Enforcement of EU Competition Law After Directive 2014/104 

Katharina Voss

8. The Practical and Legal Effects of National Decisions in Subsequent Damages Actions 

Per Karlsson

9. The Quest for Evidence – Still an Uphill Battle for Cartel Victims? 

Helene Andersson



PART III

SOLVED AND UNSOLVED ISSUES IN PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT

10. Damages Actions in Article 102 TFEU Cases: The New Frontier for Private Enforcement 

Assimakis P Komninos

11. Implementing the Rules of the Damages Directive on Joint and Several Liability: The SME Derogation 

Anna Piszcz

12. Causation and Damage: What the Directive Does Not Solve and Remarks on Relevant EU Law 

Katri Havu

13. The Presumption of Harm and its Implementation in the Member States' Legal Orders 

Pieter Van Cleynenbreugel

14. Article 17(3) of the Damages Directive and the Interaction Between the Swedish Competition Authority and Swedish Courts 

Marios C Iacovides