Due Process and Fair Trial in EU Competition Law

Cristina Teleki, Ph.D. (2020) is a lawyer who worked at the European Court of Human Rights, the European Commission and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Her research focuses on fundamental rights and EU law.

List of Tables and Figures

Acknowledgements



Introduction

 1 Scope

 2 Methodology



PART 1

Foundations



1 Central Issues of Research

 1.1 EU Competition Law – A Paradox within EU Law

 1.2 The ECtHR – System Design as a Predictor of Success

 1.3 ECtHR as a Self-Regulating Tribunal



2 Supporting Issues

 2.1 Systems Theory and Social Sciences

 2.2 The New Public Management Movement

 2.3 Peoples, Consumers and Citizens

 2.4 Accession of the EU to the echr

 2.5 The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU



3 A Foot in the Past: Existing Literature

 3.1 Legal Philosophy

 3.2 A Renewed Debate on Human Rights

 3.3 A Renewed Imagining of the Trial

 3.4 Competition Policy

 3.5 Competition Policy and Fundamental Rights



PART 2

The Dynamic Evolution of the Right to a Fair Trial



 Introduction to Part 2



4 The Right to a Fair Trial

 4.1 Formulation and Importance of Article 6(1) echr

 4.2 Influence of the Case-law of the ECtHR on Domestic Legislation

 4.3 External Influences on the Case-law of the ECtHR



5 Applicability of Article 6(1) ECHR

 5.1 Maintaining Pockets of State Sovereignty

 5.2 Applicability of Article 6(1) ECHR to “Civil Rights and Obligations”

 5.3 Applicability of Article 6(1) ECHR to “Criminal Charges”



6 The Right to a Fair Trial – A Tool for Self-Regulation

 6.1 The Process Towards Justiciability

 6.2 The Role Played by the Academic Community

 6.3 The Zeitgeist

 6.4 Cooperation with the ECtHR – Four Possible Models



PART 3

Fair Trial and the Independence of the Commission as the Competition Enforcement Agency of the EU



 Introduction to Part 3



7 The Debate on Independence at the Crossroads of the Administrative State, Delegation and IRA s

 7.1 The Rise of the Administrative State, Delegation and IRA s

 7.2 The UNCTAD

 7.3 oecd Roundtable on Changes in Institutional Design of Competition Authorities

 7.4 International Competition Network

 7.5 Independence of European Regulators

 7.6 The European Competition Network

 7.7 Empowering NCA s – Directive 1/2019

 7.8 The Difficult Case for the Independence of the European Commission



8 The Case-law of the ECtHR on the Right to an Independent and Impartial Tribunal

 8.1 Established by Law

 8.2 Independence

 8.3 Impartiality

 8.4 The Relevance of the ECtHR’s Case-Law on Independence and Impartiality



9 The Structure of the European Commission as Enforcer of Competition Law

 9.1 The European Commission as a Political Institution

 9.2 The European Commission as an Autonomous Bureaucracy



10 The Procedure for Enforcement of Article 101 and 102 tfeu

 10.1 The Investigation Phase

 10.2 Prohibition Procedure

 10.3 Commitments Procedure

 10.4 Procedure for Rejection of Complaints

 10.5 Settlement Procedures



11 The Commission’s Powers of Investigation

 11.1 Sanctions

 11.2 Leniency

 11.3 Sector Inquiries

 11.4 Requests for Information

 11.5 The Power to Take Statements

 11.6 Powers of Inspection



12 Limits on the Commission’s Powers of Investigation

 12.1 General Principles of Limitation

 12.2 The Rights of the Defence



13 A Risk-Based Framework for Safeguarding the European Commission’s Independence

 13.1 Identifying the Risks to Independence in EU Competition Law Proceedings

 13.2 Mitigating the Identified Risks



PART 4

Fair Trial and Judicial Review of EU Competition Law



 Introduction to Part 4



14 Case-law of the ECtHR on the Right to an Effective Judicial Review

 14.1 Judicial Review in Administrative Law Disputes

 14.2 Judicial Review in Disputes Involving “Criminal Charges”

 14.3 Judicial Review in Banking Law Disputes

 14.4 Non-Pecuniary Damage for Breach of the Right to Judicial Review



15 Relevance of the ECtHR’s Case-law on the Right to Judicial Review – A Story of Three Models

 15.1 Exercise of Administrative Discretion within Polycentric Issues

 15.2 Exercise of Administrative Discretion for Monocentric Issues

 15.3 Exercise of Administrative Discretion as Policing Power



16 Case-law of EU Courts on the Right to an Effective Judicial Review

 16.1 Right to Effective Judicial Protection

 16.2 Right to Judicial Review in Competition Law cases – A Matter of Constitutional Design

 16.3 Limited Review of Legality – Design by Self-Interpretation

 16.4 Unlimited Review of Fines

 16.5 Margin of Appreciation of the EU Commission and Unlimited Review of Fines

 16.6 The Right to a Fair Legal Process in EU Law



17 Is Judicial Review A Cure for Bigness?

 17.1 Adjudication and Economic Evidence

 17.2 Adjudication and the Administrative Man

 17.3 Adjudication, Bias and Monoculture

 17.4 Adjudication and Problems of Organized Complexity



Step into the Future: Bigness and Judicial Power

Works Cited

Index