Private Antitrust Enforcement in the United States and the European Union: Standing and Antitrust Injury

Abstract:     
This paper discusses and compares the implications of U.S. and E.U. standards for antitrust standing and antitrust injury with respect to private enforcement. In the U.S. these concepts are relatively well defined. In the E.U. they are still subject to a period of interpretation. The comparison is complicated by the difference in emphasis in the two systems. In the U.S. private actions are designed principally to have a deterrent effect. In the E.U. the goal is more compensation oriented. The article concludes that as a result of treble damages, the U.S. system is more consistent with both goals and that more liberal standards in the E.U. are unlikely to overcome the absence of a punitive element in antitrust recoveries.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 32

working papers series