Hart Publishing Access and Cartel Cases: Ensuring Effective Competition Law Enforcement (Hart Studies in Competition Law)

Review Helene Andersson’s book is to be commended for its critical and clear exposition of the tangle of rules on access to Commission files. The study stands out in particular for its thorough examination of fundamental rights as well as for the bold positions taken … a must for anyone wishing to delve into the issue of access to Commission files. --Concurrences Agnès Mouterde, University of Paris I Panthéon-SorbonneA must-read book … Access and cartel cases: Ensuring Effective Competition Law Enforcement is, without doubt, to be considered a reference among competition law scholars, practitioners, and enforcers. --Market and Competition Law Review Inês Neves, University of Porto Product Description This book examines the legislative patchwork surrounding access to the European Commission’s cartel case files. Recent legislative changes have increased the value of the files and have also highlighted the inherent tension between a number of competing interests affecting their accessibility. The Commission is undoubtedly caught between a rock and a hard place, charged with the task to ensure due process, transparency and effectiveness while at the same time promoting both public and private enforcement of the EU competition rules. The author considers how best to ensure a proper balance between the legitimate, but often diverging interests of parties, third parties and national competition authorities in these cases. The book provides a unique and comprehensive presentation of the EU legislation and case law surrounding access to the Commission’s cartel case files. The author examines the question of accessibility from three different perspectives: that of the parties under investigation, cartel victims, and national competition authorities. The author also considers the EU leniency system and whether any legislative changes could make the attractiveness of the system less dependent on the possibilities of cartel victims to access the evidence contained in the Commission’s case files. About the Author Helene Andersson is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Stockholm. Photo credit to Niklas Björling.