Consumer involvement in private EU competition law enforcement / Maria Ioannidou.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ioannidou, Maria, 1983- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consumer protection--Law and legislation--European Union countries.

Consumer protection.

Antitrust law--European Union countries.

Antitrust law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

[Oxford] : Oxford University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This text is a timely and comprehensive examination of consumer participation in EU competition law enforcement. Using in-depth analysis of recent case law and policy documents, it offers a clear and innovative framework of the subject's normative and practical aspects, and proposes necessary remedial and procedural rules to enable participation.

Contents:

Cover

Consumer Involvement in Private EU Competition Law Enforcement

Copyright

Contents

Table of Cases

Table of Legislation

List of Abbreviations

1. Introduction

1. Background

2. Nature of the Subject Matter

2.1 EU competition law enforcement: A fused approach

2.2 The consumer's role in EU competition law enforcement

2.3 Function of tort law

2.4 Harmonization: Unity or diversity?

3. Methodology and Terminological Clarifications

4. Structure

PART A: Normative Approach to Consumer Participation

2. 'Consumer Interest' and the Aims of EU Competition Law

2. The Interplay between Competition Law and Consumer Law

3. Multiple Aims and the 'Consumer Interest'

3.1 Multiplicity of aims

3.2 'Consumer welfare' in EU competition law

3.3 'Consumer interest' in EU competition law

4. The Role of the 'Consumer Interest'

4.1 'Consumer welfare': Commission 'rhetoric'

4.2 'Consumer interest': Insights from EU jurisprudence

5. Embracing 'Consumer Interest' in EU Competition Law

6. Conclusion

3. Normative Justifications for Increased Consumer Involvement

2. Endemic/Functional Aims of Private Competition Law Enforcement

2.1 Private enforcement of EU law

2.2 Private enforcement of EU competition law: EU institutions' approach

2.3 Scepticism as to the deterrent function of (follow-on) damages actions

2.4 Ranking the endemic aims

3. Ancillary Institutional Benefits

3.1 Proliferation of information-contributing to consumer education and empowerment

3.2 Legitimization of EU policies

4. Conclusion

Part B: Practical Approach to Consumer Participation

4. Improving Consumers' Role: 'Standing' and 'Access to Evidence'

2. Characteristics of Consumer Claims: Justifying a More 'Enabling' Approach.

3. Consumer Standing and Passing-on

3.1 A theoretical account: SCOTUS approach

3.2 The European Court's approach

3.3 Legislative solution

4. Access to Evidence

4.1 Disclosure of evidence: Promoting stand-alone consumer claims

4.2 Promoting follow-on consumer claims-preserving the effectiveness of public enforcement

5. Conclusion

5. Improving Consumers' Role: Collective Actions

2. EU Developments on Collective Redress: A Historical Account

3. Demarcating Collective Action Mechanisms in the Field of Competition Law

3.1 Individual v collective consumer interest

3.2 'Access to justice' for consumer claims in competition law

4. Structural Characteristics of a Model Collective Action

4.1 Structuring the group: Opt in v opt-out

4.2 Standing to bring claims: Consumer representatives

4.3 Funding of actions

4.4 Distribution of the damages award

4.5 Synopsis

5. Structural Characteristics of Member States' Collective Action Mechanisms

5.1 Furthering individual consumers' interests

5.2 Furthering the collective consumer interest

5.3 Synopsis

6. Structuring the Appropriate EU Collective Action Mechanism

6.1 Standing: Lead plaintiff, public body, or consumer organization

6.2 Forming the group: Opt-in v opt-out

6.3 Distribution of the damages award

6.4 Costs and funding of collective actions

7. Conclusion

6. Consumer Involvement in Public Competition Law Enforcement: Towards Acceptable Alternatives

2. Fused Approach to Enforcement: The Benefits

2.1 Rethinking the deterrence-Compensation dichotomy

2.2 Ancillary institutional benefits

3. Current Avenues for Consumer Participation: Public Enforcement Stricto Sensu

3.1 Complaints to the Commission

3.2 Making complaints to the Commission more effective

3.3 Sector inquiries.

3.4 Improvements to sector inquiries: Priorities, structure, and outcome

3.5 'Super-complaints': The European way

3.6 Other participation avenues: Intervention

4. Public Enforcement Lato Sensu: Towards a Mixed Approach to Competition Law Enforcement

4.1 Instances of 'public compensation'

4.2 Categorization of cases

4.3 Institutionalizing a public compensation approach

4.4 Serving the collective consumer interest

7. Overcoming Institutional and Political Limitations: Appropriate Instruments for the Introduction of European-Wide Measures

2. Enhancing Consumer Participation: Political Obstacles and the Proposed Measures

2.1 Political obstacles and the Directive on Damages Actions

2.2 Content of the proposals

3. Implementing the Proposals

3.1 Justifying a competition-specific harmonization of procedural rules for consumer claims

3.2 In search of an adequate legal base

3.3 In search of the most appropriate legislative instrument

4. Implementing Remaining Public Enforcement Proposals

8. Concluding Remarks

Selected Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2015.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on December 1, 2016).

ISBN:

0-19-103989-6

0-19-183462-9

0-19-103988-8

OCLC:

925332298