Myths and Untold Stories - Private Antitrust Enforcement in Germany

Peyer, Sebastian (2010) Myths and Untold Stories - Private Antitrust Enforcement in Germany. CCP Working Paper (10-12). ISSN 1745-9648

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Abstract

The paper offers an empirical analysis of private antitrust enforcement in Germany based on cases that were decided by courts between 2005 and 2007. The study presents information about the magnitude and nature of civil antitrust actions in Germany. The data includes inter alia, information about the courts involved in litigation, the relationship of the parties, affected industries, the remedies sought, the outcome of the claim, the alleged anticompetitive conduct, the proportion of stand-alone and follow-on litigation, and the length of proceedings before a given court. The study shows that a large number of private cases were concluded even when compared with public investigations in Germany. It seems that private antitrust actions complement rather than duplicate public enforcement efforts because of the overwhelming proportion of stand-alone claims and the amount of actions based on the abuse of market power. Only a small number of litigants asked for the compensation of loss suffered from anticompetitive conduct. Interpreting the results from the study cautiously, the paper suggests that the European Commission and other stakeholders may have misunderstood the nature of private actions in Germany (and maybe Europe) and, consequently, asked the wrong question, focusing on compensation. Expensive damages actions for the breach of the antitrust rules might not be as important as commonly assumed.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	empirical study,private antitrust enforcement,white paper,germany
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Competition, Markets and Regulation Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Media, Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Competition Policy
Related URLs:	http://ssrn.com/paper=1672695
Depositing User:	Sebastian Peyer
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2011 15:35
Last Modified:	27 Apr 2023 23:50
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/29237
DOI:

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