Implementation of the EU Damages Directive into Member State Law

Abstract

This publication includes country reports on the implementation of the Damages Directive in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. These country reports are based on a conference organised at Würzburg University (Germany) on 5 May 2017.

After an introduction by the organiser of the conference (Florian Bien), the contributors give a brief overview of the state of private enforcement before and after implementation of the Directive in their Member States, and then discuss five discrete topics:

1. Disclosure of documents that lie in the control of the parties; 2. disclosure of evidence included in the file of a competition authority; 3. binding effect of decisions of national authorities; 4. limitation periods; and 5. the effect of consensual settlements on subsequent damages actions.

Keywords: Damages Directive, private enforcement, competition law, antitrust law, disclosure, limitation periods, consensual settlements

JEL Classification: K21, K13, K41, K42