An Economist’s Perspective on the EU Competition Judicial Review Process

Abstract

In this brief essay I discuss the reasons why, in my experience, the judicial review of competition decisions by the European Commission is unlikely to correct the costly Type I errors (or false positives) that with some probability characterise the Commission’s decisions. This is of particular significance nowadays given that everything indicates that competition agencies are likely increase their enforcement efforts convinced that so far they have been too lenient or, if you prefer, they have paid too much attention to minimising Type I errors at the cost of increasing the likelihood and cost of Type II errors (or false negatives).

Keywords: Antitrust, Error Costs, Judicial Review

JEL Classification: K21, L40