Access and Cartel Cases: Ensuring Effective Competition Law Enforcement(Hart Studies in Competition Law)

This book examines the legislative patchwork surrounding access to the European Commission's cartel case files. Recent legislative changes have increased the value of the files and have also highlighted the inherent tension between a number of competing interests affecting their accessibility. The Commission is undoubtedly caught between a rock and a hard place, charged with the task to ensure due process, transparency and effectiveness while at the same time promoting both public and private enforcement of the EU competition rules. The author considers how best to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate, but often diverging interests of parties, third parties and national competition authorities in these cases. The book provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the EU legislation and case law surrounding access to the Commission's cartel case files. The author examines the question of accessibility from three different perspectives: that of the parties under investigation, cartel victims, and national competition authorities. The author also considers the EU leniency system and whether any legislative changes could make the attractiveness of the system less dependent on the possibilities of cartel victims to access the evidence contained in the Commission's case files.

Table of Contents:
Introduction I. Aim and Scope of this Book II. Setting the Scene III. Outline PART I THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK 1. The Rules Governing Access I. Public Access to Documents Held by the EU Institutions 2. Fundamental Rights Protection in the EU I. Historic Background to EU Fundamental Rights Protection II. The Role of the ECHR within the EU Fundamental Rights Regime III. The Criminal Nature of Competition Law Proceedings IV. The Legal Framework Surrounding Party Access PART II NATIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORITIES 3. Information Exchange between Competition Authorities I. Information Exchange – A Sine Qua Non of Effective Cartel Enforcement? II. The Territorial Reach of EU Competition Law III. Safeguarding Fundamental Rights IV. Cooperation Reaching Outside the EU V. Information Exchange Within the ECN VI. Information Exchange – Concluding Remarks PART III PARTIES AND COMPLAINANTS 4. Targeted Companies' Right to Access the File I. Access to the File – Emergence of the Right II. Access to the File – The Legislative Framework III. When Should Access be Granted? V. Consequences of the Commission's Failure to Grant Access VI. The Parties' Use of the Information Obtained from the Commission VII. Does the EU Standard Meet the ECHR Standard? VIII. Access to the File – Concluding Remarks 5. Third Parties' Right to Access Documents in the Capacity of Complainants or Interveners I. The Regulatory Framework II. The Courts' Case Law III. Concluding Remarks PART IV THIRD PARTIES AND THE ROLE OF THE LENIENCY PROGRAMME 6. Seeking Access under the Transparency Regulation I. Seeking Direct Access to the Commission's File II. The Courts' Case Law 7. Seeking Access Through National Courts I. The Commission and the National Courts before the Damages Directive II. The Commission and the National Courts aft er the Directive III. International Aspects IV. Concluding Remarks 8. More Detailed Infringements Decisions – The Way Forward? I. The Procedure II. Pergan Hilfsstoff e – Professional Secrecy and the Presumption of Innocence III. AKZO – (Non-) Protection of Leniency Applicants IV. Pilkington – Information Shared between Cartel Members No Longer Confidential V. Evonik Degussa – Protection of Leniency Statements VI. The Court's Ruling in AGC Glass – The Role of the Hearing Officer VII. More Detailed Infringements Decisions – Concluding Remarks 9. The Survival of the Leniency System I. The EU Leniency System II. Necessary Features in a Successful Leniency Programme III. Why Decide against Filing a Leniency Application? IV. Are We Really Witnessing the Decline and Fall of the EU Leniency Programme? V. Is Leniency the Only Option? VI. Keeping the Leniency Programme Attractive VII. The US Experience VIII. The Survival of the Leniency System – Concluding Remarks PART V SUMMING UP 10. Joining the Dots I. Information Exchange between Competition Authorities II. Party Access III. Third Parties and Regulation 1/2003 IV. Third Parties and the Transparency Regulation V. Seeking Access Th rough National Courts VI. More Detailed Infringement Decisions VII. The Leniency System – Worthy of Protection? VIII. The Way Forward

About the Author :
Helene Andersson is Lecturer in Law at the University of Stockholm.

Review :
Helene Andersson's book is to be commended for its critical and clear exposition of the tangle of rules on access to Commission files. The study stands out in particular for its thorough examination of fundamental rights as well as for the bold positions taken … a must for anyone wishing to delve into the issue of access to Commission files. A must-read book … Access and cartel cases: Ensuring Effective Competition Law Enforcement is, without doubt, to be considered a reference among competition law scholars, practitioners, and enforcers.