Part I Concurrent Enforcement of Competition Law, 2 Administrative Proceedings

Subject(s):

Arbitration procedures — Allocation of cases — Appeals — Judicial review — National Courts — National courts

This chapter sets out the taxonomy of administrative proceedings in competition law matters. Competition law may be enforced by administrative bodies in the public interest, as provided by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Administrative proceedings may be started by any of the national competition authorities in the EU, and are subject to national procedures. In addition, its decisions may be challenged before national courts and tribunals under national laws. Administrative investigations may be commenced in the US by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or by the Federal Trade Commission. Although such investigations then lead to judicial proceedings being issued or criminal prosecutions being brought, cooperation with EU authorities may occur in the context of the administrative investigation. Such cooperation is relevant to international concurrency and is dealt with at the end of this chapter.