The Role of Independent Competition Authorities as Quasi-Courts in Defending Rule of Law Values in Europe

Abstract

Competition authorities safeguard economic rights that we consider “fundamental” in our societies. As such, their task of effective enforcement of competition law is not only crucial for safeguarding undistorted competition within the EU’s internal market, but also forms part of effective legal protection as laid down in Article 19 TEU and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.  Therefore, competition authorities have functions similar to courts, and their independence is seen as a fundamental prerequisite to fulfil their tasks.

This paper analyses this fundamental court-like function of competition authorities, and its implications in the EU’s legal order. By constraining arbitrary economic power, competition authorities function as the guarantors of the rule of law in economic activities, and protect the “market’s equivalent of separation of powers”. They limit private power in order to safeguard individual economic freedoms and prevent “undesirable collusions with political power”. Accordingly, competition authorities fulfil an important role in safeguarding the EU’s rule of law values. Their independence is crucial for safeguarding effective legal protection across the EU. While NCAs have not been recognized by the EU Courts as courts or tribunals in the meaning of Article 267 TFEU, their role and independence has been clearly linked by the General Court to the effective enforcement of EU competition law, and effective legal protection as understood under article 19 TEU, and hence, the EU values under Article 2.

Keywords: competition authorities, EU law, courts, independence, decentralized enforcement, rule of law

JEL Classification: K21, K4