The Road to the Commission’s White Paper for Damages Actions: Where We Came From

Assimakis Komninos, Nov 01, 2008

The European Commission´s April 2008 White Paper on Damages Actions for Antitrust Violations is a groundbreaking development. It marks the establishment of a system of private antitrust enforcement system in Europe, which, however, does not imitate the U.S. example but is rather European in its conception, origins, and main parameters. To help understand the White Paper proposals, it is imperative to review its origins (i.e., where we came from). This article aims at presenting the jurisprudential developments in Europe that created the right atmosphere for the White Paper to come in existence. The review of these developments explains the main qualities and basic premises of the White Paper. In particular, it explains the fundamental choice to depart from the U.S. solution and instead opt for allowing both offensive and defensive passing-on.

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• The Road to the Commission’s White Paper for Damages Actions: Where We Came From